Adventure in Hoenn
by alexhacker39
Summary: Aria is Ash's older sister and is training to become a Pokemon Trainer so she could enter the Hoenn League, but she goes on an adventure with her brother and a few other friends they have known or maybe even some newer friends! Who knows what what will happen on their journey this time? [Book 3 of the Adventure Series]
1. EPISODE 1: PART 1

**ADVENTURE IN HOENN  
_Adventure Series_**

**Summary: **_Aria is Ash's older sister and is training to become a Pokemon Trainer so she could enter the Hoenn League, but she goes on an adventure with her brother and a few other friends they have known or maybe even some newer friends! Who knows what what will happen on their journey this time? [Book 3 of the Adventure Series]_

**Disclaimers: **_I do not own Pokemon! I only own any OC characters like Aria or anyone else appearing that I have created. Pokemon belongs to Nintendo and I have no claims to owning it!_

**Preface:**_ This was a long work in process, but everything worked out so far. Welcome everyone to the third book in the Adventure Series. For some reason, I thought it would be best to work on this before anything else, but I suppose this works too. Alright, I explained this in book 1, but I'm not going to be doing a recap of how I created Aria, but I will let you know on some events planned. __The movies in this book might be the hardest out of the the others I plan to do. The hardest one might be Lucario and the Mystery of Mew, just because of what Ash has to do and what Aria might have to pull off along in it since they are both siblings. Get what I'm trying to say?_

* * *

**Episode I: Part I  
****Getting the Show on the Road!**

"Come on, you can do it Electrike! Discharge, and Houndoom try to dodge it as fast as you can!" A young voice commanded.

The large canine Pokemon then tries to dodge the sparks of electricity.

"Good Electrike! Keep it up!"

There was another canine on the battlefield, but this one was much smaller and looked very different from the other one.

When Houndoom got to close to Electrike the voice from before claps her hands.

"Okay! We're done for today!"

The two Pokemon stopped and turned to their trainer.

"Good work! I'm glad it all worked out well. You're getting better Electrike, just you wait!" She told them.

"I see you are very excited, Aria."

Aria turns around and saw someone walk over to her.

"Hi Joshua!" She greeted. "And it seems I am very excited, Electrike is getting a lot better at battling, I'm happy for him." She turns to the small Pokemon that jumped into her arms as she hugged him.

She looks up at the other Pokemon that walked over to them.

"You did good too Houndoom, thanks for helping us out." She said.

Houndoom cries out in happiness as Aria smiles.

"I hear your brother is coming to start a new journey here." Joshua said.

Aria turns to him.

"Yeah, I can't wait! I haven't seen him since the Pokemon League. He didn't win but he tried his best with his partner, I'm proud of him." She said with a big smile on her face. "He should be here later today, I'm just so excited, I can't stay still!"

She turns to Houndoom.

"Are you excited to see Ash too, Houndoom?" She asked.

"Rawww!"

Aria smiled. "I guess we both can't wait. He'll love it here as much as we do."

"By the way, we're suppose to be getting a new trainer to be coming today to receive their first Pokemon." Joshua said as Aria returned Electrike to its Poke Ball.

"I see, I still remember when I got Houndoom. We've done everything together and I wouldn't have made it so far without him." She said, looking over at the Pokemon beside her.

"Let's head inside, the new trainer should be here soon." Joushua said.

Aria nods and heads inside the lab with him and Houndoom. When they finally were able to take a break, the two sat down and smiled at each other.

"I'm still excited." She said to Houndoom. "I wonder what kind of Pokemon he caught since we've only got to see him since the Pokemon League."

"Raw!"

"Hey Aria!"

She turns her head and noticed Joshua walk over to her.

"Yeah?" She asked as she stood up.

"Your brother is on the phone and wants to speak with you, it seems like he's in a hurry."

Aria looked a bit confused yet surprised.

"Okay, thanks." She told him.

Aria walked past him with Houndoom and they stood in front of the phone as she saw a worried look on his face.

"Ash? What's wrong? What's with that look on your face?" She asked worriedly.

_"Aria, there's an emergency!"_ He exclaimed.

"What happened?" She asked again.

_"It's Pikachu, he was starting to get very sick and weak and I don't know what to do._" He said._ "There's no Pokemon Center here either, is Professor Birch there? Pikachu really needs help!"_ He asked.

Aria shook her head.

"He's not here at the moment, he went out in the field to conduct an experiment." She said. "But stay put, I'm going to try and see if I can get a hold of him." She told him.

Ash nods his head. _"Thanks, and please hurry."_ He said.

Aria nods and ends the phone call and intimately tried to call professor Birch.

_Ash, what have you gotten yourself into this time?_

* * *

Ash sat on the bunch, holding his Pikachu in his arms in a towel and noticed that Pikachu was getting worse by the minute.

"Pikachu...you're going to be okay." He told his pokemon.

Ash was then startled when he heard a jeep come to a break next to him.

"Are you Ash Ketchum?" The man in the jeep asked.

Ash stood up.

"Yes, are you Professor Birch?" He asked.

"That would be me, you're sister told me you were here. Let me have a look at Pikachu." The professor looks down at Pikachu and noticed the sparks coming out of its red cheeks. "Not good, let's get to my lab quickly." He said.

Ash nodded his head in response.

"Right."

They climb into the jeep and Birch starts it quickly before they took off.

* * *

Aria and Joshua stood at the entrance of the lab waiting for the professor and Ash to arrive.

"I hope he's alright." Aria spoke up after they have been silent since they were waiting for them to arrive.

"Ash will be fine, we just have to help his Pikachu." Joshua said.

"I hope so."

In a few minutes, Ash and the professor finally arrive and they entered.

"Everything is in place and ready." Joshua said to the professor.

"Thank, this way Ash."

The two lead them inside and they were now in the lab where they hooked Pikachu's cheeks up to a machine while Ash and Aria stood back to let them do their work.

"What's that?" Ash asked, gesturing to the machine that they have on Pikachu.

"A device that will rig Pikachu of all of it's trapped electricity." Birch replied as he looked over at Joshua. "Power on, Joshua."

"Yes sir."

He flips the lever and the machine turns on and started to suck away the bad electricity out of Pikachu.

"Pikachu, just hold on." Ash told his Pokemon.

Electricity was sparking everywhere and even the machine couldn't handle it all of that bad electricity.

"Ah, p-professor!" Joshua exclaimed.

"Keep going!" Birch told him.

"It's not going to work!" Aria exclaimed. "The machine is going to explode!"

"Everyone down!"

Everyone jumps onto the floor as everything glowed a bright color and the machine exploded. The windows were broken and even parts in the walls were too. Pikachu then stood up and shook its head as it jumped out the window.

"Pikachu!" Ash called for his partner as he jumped out the window as well.

"Ash!" Aria does the same like Ash and follows him from behind.

"Do you have Pokemon that a strong against an electric type?" Birch called to Ash.

"I don't have any other Pokemon with me now!" Ash shouted.

"I do professor, nothing to worry about!" Aria said.

"I'm coming too!" Birch walks back into the room and picks up three Poke Balls and jumps out the window as well.

"Wait! We had set those Poke Balls aside for May, remember?" Joshua asked.

"There's no choice! When she gets here just tell her to wait!" He said.

* * *

"Ash! Aria! Wait for me!"

They two teens come to a stop once they saw the professor running over to them.

"Pikachu's eternal electricity is too high. A disturbance of any kind to Pikachu's electrical field could cause a massive explosion."

Aria and Ash gasp in shock.

"Pikachu is in much more trouble than I thought." Birch told them.

"Now what?" Ash asked.

"I think we'll have better luck if we split up and search for it."

"Yeah, your right. Come on Aria."

Ash started to run ahead as the professor ran the other direction and Aria followed after her younger brother.

"Ash, hold on a sec!" She called.

Ash comes to a stop once Aria held out a Poke Ball.

"Houndoom, come on out!"

She tossed the Poke Ball as her Pokemon appeared in front of her.

"Can you help us look for Pikachu?" She asked.

Houndoom nods in response.

"Is that..."

"Yeah, Houndour evolved a while after the Pokemon League. He's great when it comes to tracking, so let's go find Pikachu before something bad happens." Aria explains.

Ash nods his head, understanding her explanation.

Houndoom then started to lead the way for the two once he got the scent.

"Pikachu shouldn't have ran off to far, so he should be okay for now." Aria said.

"I just hope so." Ash mumbled.

* * *

**Sooo, was that good? I was sure if this was a good first chapter since this is based off Season 6 in the anime, but is it good so far? Aria being Ash's sister and all? And what do you think will happen to Pikachu?**


	2. EPISODE 1: PART 2

**Episode I: Part II  
The New Trainer, May!**

Ash and Aria could only hear their own panting from how long they felt like they've been running.

How could Pikachu have gotten this far without losing consciousness?

"How much farther, Houndoom?" Aria asked her partner.

"Rar!" Houndoom responded, moving his head in the direction they were running.

"We've got to be close now!" Aria responded, glancing at her brother. "Pikachu should be just up ahead!"

Once they reached the an open part of the forest where the grass was slightly taller. Houndoom barks, getting their attention that Pikachu was in the grass.

"Thanks Houndoom," She pulls out its Poke Ball. "Return for now friend."

Ash walked ahead of her, looking through the grass carefully so he didn't step on something. Aria soon enough caught up to him, looking a bit of a distance away in hopes to find Pikachu.

All of a sudden she could hear Ash muttering something. When she turned around all she could see what electricity flying all over the area.

"Ah!"

Things went black for a moment. She couldn't tell how much time had passed once she regain consciousness. When she sat up, she spotted Ash was already up and heading for the unconscious electric mouse. Soon enough it woke up and spotted Ash walking towards it which increased its anger.

"Ash! Get back!" Aria called to him in worry, forcing herself to stand up.

"I got to help Pikachu!" He exclaimed before Pikachu unleashed a bunch of electricity into the area.

"Ash, get away from it!"

Aria turns around and saw Professor Birch running over to them and a brown hair girl with a red bandana on her head, riding a bike.

Pikachu stood up and ran away once again.

"Pikachu!" Ash called.

Pikachu was nearly out of their sight until they saw it running straight off the cliff. Ash chased after Pikachu until he jumped off after it.

"Ash!" Aria exclaimed worriedly.

The professor, Aria, and the girl ran over to the edge of the cliff and looked down to see that Ash caught Pikachu but was holding onto a branch with his other arm to keep themselves from falling. Aria then opened her bag and pulled out a Poke Ball.

"Ivysaur, we need your help!" She called out her Pokemon as it appeared by her side. "Use Vine Whip to help Ash climb back up here." She commanded.

Ivysaur nodded before he sent them down to him.

"Ash, just hold on tight, help is on the way." She shouted down to him.

"Okay, thanks." He replied.

Ash had a bit of trouble of getting back up with Pikachu using Thunder Bolt to try and get out of his arm to run away, but Pikachu also bit him too which made him come to a quick stop for a second until Pikachu realized what he had done. Ash continued before anything else had happened until he reached the cliff.

Ash sat down on the ground taking a deep breath.

"That was close, thanks Aria." He said.

"It's not big deal, just doing something for my brother." She replied with a smile.

Ash smiles as well before standing up.

Before the professor could remind them about what is going to happen to Pikachu, they heard a loud crash, which made them turn around. In front of them stood a tall robot that was made like a battery, but it had arms and legs, also an outlet on the very top of it.

On the top two people stood up there until a Meowth was between them.

"Team Rocket!" Ash shouted. "Not you guys again!"

"These guys again? Didn't we get rid of you last time?" Aria asked, sounding a bit confused.

"Who are they?" The brown hair girl asked.

"I've never heard of them." The professor said.

"Trust us, there always up to no good." Ash replied.

"They steal Pokemon from people and try to use them against the world." Aria explained before glaring daggers at Team Rocket.

Pikachu knew Ash didn't have any other Pokemon to battle with them, so it tried to jump out of his arms but Ash wouldn't let it.

"Don't do anything Pikachu." He said.

"That's how you want to play? Fine with us!" Meowth shouted.

A claw was shot out from inside of the robot and grabbed Pikachu out of Ash's arms. The arms then used a suction cup on both of Pikachu's cheeks. The robot then started suck away all of Pikachu's electricity as sparks were flying everywhere.

"Pikachu!" Ash cried.

The meter on the robot keep going up and up very slowly still taking away Pikachu's electricity.

"Professor?" Aria asked, noticed that the sparks were now everywhere.

"Pikachu's output is incredible!" He exclaimed.

It soon stopped and Pikachu shook its head before grinning and using Thunderbolt on the robot.

The others gasp at the power the Pikachu had, even Ash was surprise at this. The robot then blows up as Team Rocket were flying through the sky until you couldn't see them. When the smoke cleared Pikachu stood tall and proud until it collapsed.

"Pikachu!" Ash cried as he ran over to his partner.

Aria and the professor ran over to it as well to check on it. A small thought ran through Aria's head as she began to get worried.

_I hope Pikachu is okay..._

* * *

"Professor Birch, it appears that Pikachu's electricity pressure has reached normal levels." Said Joshua once the professor and the others made it back to his lab.

"Good," He said. "That machine of Team Rocket's must have absorbed all of Pikachu's un-needed electricity. A good night sleep should do it."

"Great, thanks professor." Ash said, looking back down at Pikachu.

But they didn't realize that the brown hair girl was standing behind a door watching them, at least until a pot of flowers nearly fell and she had to catch it, which made her almost fall. The others heard her and turned around.

"Hi! I thought I introduce myself." She said quickly, hiding the pot behind her. "I'm May."

"I'm Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town, and this is Aria my older sister." He said.

"Hi, it's nice to meet you." Aria said with a slight wave.

"So, how's Pikachu?" May asked turning to the Pokemon.

"Just needs a good night sleep." Aria said. "He'll be fine in the morning."

"That's good news."

The professor turned to May.

"Well now May, are you ready to chose your first Pokemon?" He asked.

This caught Ash's attention quickly.

"What? Your first Pokemon?" He asked.

Aria walked over to a table and picked up the three Poke Balls that sat there and held them in front of them.

"These three Poke Balls contain three beginner Pokemon." She said, looking up at May. "Each trainer in the Hoenn region get their start Pokemon from the professor in order to start their journey."

Professor Birch takes one and the Pokemon appears out of it, which was a Treecko.

"This is Treecko." He said. "And it's a grass type."

May looked at the Pokemon carefully before it turned to her which made her back up. "It's creepy!" She cried.

"No it's not." Ash said. "I think it's a really cool Pokemon."

The professor picked up another and this time it was a Mudkip.

"This one is Mudkip, a water type."

"Yeah but that Mudkip didn't do a single thing I asked it to." May pointed out with a frown.

"Each Pokemon has different kinds of personalities May, it takes time to get use to the personality before becoming good friends with it." Aria said.

She called the last one out and it stood right beside her.

"And this one is Torchic, a fire type."

Torchic then hopped over to May and started to rub against her legs, which made May think for a moment.

"Well this one's not so bad." She said, picking up the Pokemon. "I like it. That's that, I chose Torchic."

The professor gave her the Poke Balls and the Pokedex she needed for her journey as a Pokemon trainer and a few tips too. Aria and Ash also suggested a few things as well as they recall their journey they had through Johto and Kanto. All of their adventures were being remembered in seconds.

The Pokemon they captured and became friends with, Pokemon they had to release for them to have a better life, and most of all, being together. The two of them met so many nice people, after saying their goodbyes to Misty and Brock, they knew they would meet again some day.

* * *

Since Ash was staying the night they had an extra room for him to sleep in a watch over Pikachu as well, including May too was staying the night there. Aria couldn't sleep at all and she decided to walk around in the lab for a few minutes.

"You're still up?"

She turns and saw the professor on the computer. He was still doing his research from before and nearly had it finished.

"I'm worried," She said. "I can't sleep with Ash like this. I didn't even think this would happen when he got here for his first time."

The professor nods.

"He's your brother, you're going to be like that." He said.

Aria sat down on a chair across from him.

"I guess so, do you think that Pikachu is going to be okay after what happened? I mean," She looks away. "Team Rocket did all of that stuff and it risked its life to stop them. I have a feeling that this won't leave Pikachu's mind for a while."

"Team Rocket did indeed help in a...odd way," He says to her. "But Pikachu should be much better in the morning without anymore terrible conditions that made it have such a panic."

Aria nods and looks at the one Poke Ball that sat on his desk. The professor noticed her staring at the Poke Ball, and picked it up.

"Something on your mind about this one?" He asked.

"Isn't that the one who was abandoned by its trainer?" She asked.

"Yes, why do you ask?" He answered confused.

"Is it alright if I go on a journey with it? To the Hoenn League."

Birch smiles and hands her the poke ball. "Of course, but you know this means you have to treat it right, so that it won't run away like it did before." He said.

"I will, I'm sure my Pokemon would love to have her around. They'll be great friends." She stares down at the Poke Ball before looking up at the professor.

"Remember that it's still has feelings and-"

"I know, I know. I'm never going to be like that." Aria said cutting him off. "I want to be friends with different kinds of Pokemon, that's why I'm going on this journey, so I can make some more friends."

The professor nods before looking back at the computer screen.

"You should get to bed, it's late, and tomorrow is a big day." He said.

Aria nods and stands up out of the chair. She walks down the hall and into the room the professor gave her when she first arrived in Hoenn, to practice and learn more to become a great Pokemon Trainer.

She placed the Poke Ball in her pocket and pulled out a different one.

"Come out, Ivysaur." She whispered as her very fist Pokemon appeared in front of her.

"Ivysaur." It responded.

Aria smiles and the two of them walked towards the window and opened it up.

"Our new adventure starts here and," She stared at the full moon that was out and bright. "There are so many wonders that need to be discovered, and that's what we're going to do."

"Ivysaur!" Ivysaur replied in joy.

The two of them looked at the sky for a short time before they headed off to bed, thinking about the new journey that is to come.

* * *

The next day, Aria was walking down the hallway until she noticed May peeking through one of the doors that Ash and Pikachu were sleeping in.

"You worried too?" She asked.

May turns around and noticed her as she looked back at the two that were asleep.

"I guess so." She answered.

"I'm more worried though, he's my younger brother and he does many things that maybe I might end up doing some day." She said, looking at them as well.

May looks at her and nods.

They then saw that Pikachu was awake and started to rub at Ash's head until he woke up which bright him up. May and Aria smiled before she closed the door and were outside.

May then calls out her Torchic and rubs it's neck. "Good morning Torchic." She said.

"This reminds me when I got my first Pokemon back in Pallet Town." Aria said, holding her partner's Poke Ball in her hands and called him out.

Ivysaur stood in front of her as the two exchanged a half five but Ivysaur used the Vine Whip to make it easier. May smiles at this as they notice Ash walk out of the lab with Pikachu on his shoulder as they yawned. The two of them walk over to him as Aria lightly gave him a playful shove in the shoulder.

"Is Pikachu all better now?" Aria asks, glancing at the electric mouse on his shoulder.

"Yeah, thank goodness." Ash replied, rubbing his partner's head.

Pikachu waves at Aria as she smiles. "Hi Pikachu, it's been a while." She greeted.

"Pikachu!" It said as it jumped into her arms.

"It's great to see you too." She said with a laugh. "I missed you both for those past days. Ever since the Silver Conference I've been practicing for a long time!"

Pikachu noticed the other two Pokemon below them and started to play with them.

"Yeah, it explains why your Houndour now is a Houndoom. I'm amazed." Ash said as he looked at their Pokemon. "Wow, what Pokemon is that?" Ash asked Aria when he noticed the other Pokemon that he hasn't seen her have before.

"Electrike." She answered. "Professor Birch gave him to me when he was only in an egg. I wish you there to see it. He was so clumsy for the first couple of days, but now he's doing wonderful. All of the training that we've been doing helped him move faster to run."

Ash smiles as they watched them play.

"Alright, looks like they're hitting it off okay. I guess you found your first friends in Hoenn here Pikachu."

* * *

"Now, you three have to register for the Hoenn League at the nearest Pokemon Center you can find, okay?" The professor said.

"And the closest town where I think you'll be able to find one is Oldale Town." Joshua said.

"Okay, thanks." Ash replied.

May sighs, "Walking all of that way alone makes me nervous." She said. "And my bike is destroyed, thanks to your Pikachu..."

Ash tensed up a bit, including Pikachu. They both felt a bit guilty about it, but they recall when starting their journey they burnt Misty's bike into nothing. Oh those memories...

"Why do we go together then?" Aria suggested. "It'll make it more safe if the three of us go together."

"Well okay, I agree." Ash said.

"Me too." May said.

"That's a good idea, you can look after one another." The professor replied.

"Yes, and be careful." Joshua told them.

"Don't worry, we will thanks a lot." Ash assured.

Once they said their goodbyes, the three of them started to head off on the trail they were taking and starting their journey to Oldale Town where they can register for the Hoenn League once they reach the Pokemon Center.


	3. EPISODE 2

**Episode II  
Blackout at the Pokemon Center!**

"Hold up a minute!"

Ash turns around and saw May sweating a bit and breathing heavy.

"You're walking too slow." He said.

"If I knew you run the whole way I wouldn't have offered my help!" May exclaimed, waving her arms around. Aria was catching up to them while she walked. She was surprised that they had gotten this far, but she knew he wouldn't be too far away from them.

"Stop it!"

The two tense up and looked over at Ash's older sister. Aria looks at Ash with tired eyes once she got a good look at the both of them.

"Look Ash, she offered to help us find our way to Oldale Town. So the best thing we can do is slow down just a bit. We'll be there before it gets late." She told him, rubbing her forehead in annoyance.

Ash sighs and looks over at Pikachu. "I guess."

Aria sighs and looks over at May who whispered thank you to her. Aria smiles and nods at her. She looks up at the sky and takes a deep breath.

_This is just the morning, what's the afternoon going to be like?_

* * *

**A kid from pallet town with a brand new world to see**

**I don't know what's ahead but it won't get the best of me**

**There's so much to learn and battles to be won**

**I've advanced so far and still there's always more to come**

**Take a step and I'm on my way gonna start all over again**

**I want to be hero (hero!)**

**Pokemon advance**

**I wanna be a hero (hero!)**

**Give it just one chance**

**And the future will decide**

**If there's a hero buried deep inside**

**I wanna be a hero!**

**Pokemon!**

* * *

"Poor Torchic." Aria said sadly. "Fire Types are weak to Water Types like Azurill."

May was attempting to catch her first Pokemon but it managed to get away and do a lot of damage onto her Torchic. May held her passed out Pokemon in her arms and looked down at it sadly.

"I feel terrible, what should I do?" She asked, looking up at the others.

"Don't worry May, we just need to take Torchic to the Pokemon Center and it will be good as new." Ash said.

"Well what are we waiting for? Let's go!"

May started to run on ahead, making the other two run up and catch up to her as she leads the way once again.

"Hey, what's that up there?" Ash asked.

Aria and May looked ahead and noticed stone pillars sticking out of the ground. They come to a stop and looked around.

"It looks like it just might be a bunch of old buildings." May said.

"Well actually these are the ruins of Oldale." A voice said.

They noticed someone walk over to them and had short brown hair that looked exactly like Brock's.

"I'm Professor Alden and I'm here investigating them." He said.

"Hi, my name's Ash."

"And I'm Ash's older sister Aria." She added.

"My name is May."

"Nice to meet you." Alden greeted. "So tell me, where are going in such a hurry?" He asked.

"We're trying to find the Pokemon Center." Ash said.

"Oh, it's right over there, just down this hill." He said, pointing at the building below.

"Great thanks!" Aria thanked as they ran passed Alden and straight to the Pokemon Center.

* * *

When they reached the Pokemon Center May already went to go Nurse Joy while Ash and Aria gave a call to an old friend of theirs.

"Hey Professor Oak, we just made it to Oldale Town." Ash said.

_"That's wonderful Ash, it's always nice to hear from you."_ Oak replied. _"I see you found your sister. Hello Aria, it's great to see you after so long."_

"It's only been a few weeks professor." She said. "But things have been great so far."

_"That's great to here, well I hope you both have a safe and successful journey."_ He said.

"Thanks." The two siblings said at the same time.

* * *

After the phone call the three trainers went to get something to eat since they have been traveling for a very long time.

"This food is delicious!" May answered cheerfully.

"The Pokemon Center always has amazing food, all of this traveling has been getting me hungry." Ash said, taking another bite out of his food.

"You always say that about food Ash." Aria said, placing her hand to her forehead. "Brothers, what am I going to do with you."

Ash laughs as Pikachu took another bite out of the Pokemon food.

"The three weary travelers, glad you made it safely."

They looked over and noticed Professor Alden standing by their table holding a tray of food.

"Hi there." Ash greeted.

They offered him to sit with them and they had a small conversation about the ruins the professor was at. After they were done eating, they threw out their trash.

"I'll be there in a minute Ash. You two go on ahead." Aria said to them.

"Okay." Ash replied.

Ash and May were heading to the Professor's office since he was showing off the research he was doing on the ruins on top of the hill, but Aria got distracted by something she saw outside of the window.

"I did see something out there, didn't I?" She asked herself. "Maybe it's nothing."

Before Aria could leave, the lights went out and she nearly screamed.

"Wha-What's going on?" She asked aloud.

The whole Pokemon Center was having a blackout, even this late at night.

"I should go find Ash and May."

She walks down the hallway and saw Nurse Joy looking around using her flashlight to check the area.

"Nurse Joy?" She asked. "What happened to the lights?"

"I don't know, we must be having a blackout. I was just about to head to the professor to see if he knew anything about it." She answers.

Nurse Joy leads Aria through the hallways until they reach his office.

"Professor Alden, when the power went out..." Nurse Joy didn't get to finish her sentence once her and Aria noticed a few people dressed in red and black and had Houndooms with armor on them surrounding Ash, May, and Alden.

They gasped in shocked until someone grabbed them from behind.

"Let go of me!" Aria exclaimed, trying to escape the person's grasp.

"Well professor, would you like to change your mind?" One of them asked Alden.

Alden sighs, "Yes, alright, I'll go with you then."

The one that was talking to Alden looked over at the one who had Aria trapped. "Bring the girl with, just in case." He said.

"Let her go!" Ash shouted.

He was going to run past to help his sister, but the Houndooms only growled louder at him, which made him stop dead in his tracks.

"Let's go."

* * *

"Let go of me! Just what are you planning on doing?!" Aria exclaimed.

"What is this meaning of this? Why did you bring us here?!" The professor demanded.

"Why do you think?" One of the ones in red said. "We brought you so you can help us gain access to the stone chamber."

The professor gasped and looked at the door behind him. "It won't work. If we try to force our way in the chamber will collapse." He said.

The man held up a relic in his hands. "You said yourself the way in here is written on this little tablet. Isn't that right professor?"

"That's true but I also said that I need to have the four treasures as keys."

"Of course." He lowers the relic to his side and held out his hand to his crew. "The keys."

They then held out a small box with four small marbles inside that were four different colors.

"What! Where did you-"

"You see we have friends in high places. The only thing left to do is find out which key goes in which hole." The man said cutting him off. "And you will help us with that."

"I won't!" The professor rejected.

"Really? Then I guess you don't care about the fate of those poor people at the Pokemon Center, especially her."

One of them pushed Aria forward and she fell on her knees. She was going to run away until she felt something cold press against her neck which made her freeze up. A knife laid their, waiting on command to slit her throat.

"You wouldn't!" Alden exclaimed, worriedly.

"We would and will unless you obey. So, what will it be?"

Alden looked at Aria and saw the scared look in her eyes. "You win." He gave in.

Alden picks up the four keys and placed them in each spot the tablet and they waited until he got it done before they removed the knife away from Aria's neck. When the door glowed it moves out of the way and they all enter inside searching for something. They remove the knife and Aria was finally able to breathe, because she was holding her breath the whole time in terror.

Aria and Alden fall them inside as they noticed drawings on the wall.

"What is this place?" Aria asked.

"This place was used to keep all of its ancient Pokemon secrets a legend. These panels are ancient people and Pokemon living together." Alden replied.

The crew then spoke really quickly before pulling the two of them outside and throwing them on the ground. Aria was about to call out Houndoom but they were long gone in a helicopter.

"Professor! Aria!"

They turned around and noticed Ash and May running in their direction.

"Are you alright?" May asked.

"We're just fine." Alden said.

"Who were those guys anyway?" Ash asked, looking at the helicopter that was nearly out of his sight.

Before Aria could answer that question, she noticed some people standing behind a short rock holding the four treasure in their hands.

"Oh, it's seems like we been discovered."

They stood up and looked around the area.

"Team Rocket!" Ash shouted.

"Hey! You guys give back those treasures!" The professor demanded.

"Not a chance, Arbok, go!" Jessie commanded.

Aria looked down at the Poke Ball that she received from Professor Birch just a day ago. She had met and talked with the Pokemon before, but she wasn't sure if it would listen to her. Sure they spent some time together, but would it battle for her after everything its been through? She bit her lip and shook her head.

"You can do this. I believe in you. Come out!" She threw the Poke Ball and the Pokemon stood in front of her.

"Who's that Pokemon?" Ash asked.

"There's no time for that! Absol! Use Sucker Punch!" She commanded.

The Pokemon looked at her before looking back at the Arbok and charging right at it as it right paw glowed a dark color. Absol jumps into the air and slashes down at Arbok getting a direct him, sending Arbok flying back at Team Rocket. They ended up dropping the four treasure when Arbok hit them, which gave Ash a chance to attack.

"Pikachu, Thunderbolt!"

Pikachu jumps off Ash's shoulder and launched the attack at them, sending Team Rocket flying.

"Team Rocket's blasting off again!" They shouted as they were flying through the sky.

Professor Alden picks up the four treasures and turns to the others. "We got them back." He said.

They nodded as Absol walked back over to Aria with a smile on her face.

"You did well Absol, you're amazing when it comes to battling." She said, rubbing Absol's head.

"Absol? Is that what it's called?" Ash asked.

"Right, the professor gave it to me before we left the lab. I can explain later but shouldn't we return those to the chamber?" Aria suggests to them.

Alden agreed with her as he held up the treasures.

"Oh right. Let's go take care of that."

When they entered the chamber the sun was just starting to rise.

"The sun is up already?" May said shocked.

Where the treasures were placed, the door glowed as everything glowed a bright color.

"Whoa..." Aria said amazed.

The chamber door moved out of the way and revealed a staircase.

"What's this!?" Alden said shocked. "Well, let's take a look."

When they reached the bottom they were in an underground water cave and saw the stream below them.

"It smells so fresh and clean down here." May said.

"You're right." Ash replied.

"I wonder if it leads out to sea." Alden mumbled.

Something then jumped out of the water, making everyone gasp as they saw it before their own eyes as it landed back in the water.

"Was that what I think it was?" Aria asked.

"It was a Relicanth! It was an ancient Pokemon!" Alden exclaimed.

"Relicanth?" Ash said confused.

"Pika?"

"It's true, this place is a portal between the present and the past."

* * *

"May, you're Torchic is as good as new." Nurse Joy said.

"Oh great, thank you." She replied, handing her the Poke Ball. "Okay come on out."

"Torchic!" It stood beside her before jumping into her arms as May hugged it.

"Excuse me Nurse Joy." Ash asked. "Did you find anything about those crocks?"

"Officer Jenny is doing everything she can but so far no clue." She said.

Aria sighs and placed her hand to where her throat was. "They could have killed me if the professor didn't open the door. For the first time in my life I was actually terrified." She said.

"Hmm, well I guess our only option for now is to head to Petalburg City." Ash said.

"Ash!" They turned and noticed the professor walking towards them. "Leaving so soon?"

"Yeah." He replied.

"Guess what? I've been doing a little more research over at the ancient chamber and so far every indication pointed to ancient Pokemon and people interacting peacefully." He explains.

"Wow." Ash said amazed.

"That must be really important. Really amazing too!" Aria replied.

Alden nods. "I can hardly stop working, I can't even sleep." He said. "There are so many undiscovered secrets in the world of Pokemon."

* * *

Later on, the three trainers were walking through the forest, heading their way to Petalburg City for their first gym battle.

"We're going to our first gym battle in Hoenn, I'm so excited." Ash said.

"Me too. And this is going to be my first battle in a while since the Pokemon League." Aria said.

"I guess so..." May looked away, think about something before a smile appeared on her face.

Aria looked up at the sky before looking at her brother. "Remember the finals?" She asked.

"How could I forget that? Your Pokemon did all of the work." He said.

She nods and looks at the trail they were taking.


	4. EPISODE 3: PART 1

**First Gym Battle!  
Episode 3: Part 1**

**Recap on the last episode...**

_"Poor Torchic. Fire Types are weak to Water Types like Azurill."_

_..._

_"It looks like it just might be a bunch of old buildings."_

_..._

_"Well actually these are the ruins of Oldale."_

_..._

_"I'm Professor Alden and I'm here investigating them."_

_..._

_"I did see something out there, didn't I? Maybe it's nothing."_

_..._

_"Let go of me!"_

_..._

_"Yes, alright, I'll go with you then."_

_..._

_"Why do you think? We brought you so you can help us gain access to the stone chamber."_

_..._

_"Really? Then I guess you don't care about the fate of those poor people at the Pokemon Center, especially her."_

_..._

_"There's no time for that! Absol! Use Sucker Punch!"_

_..._

_"It smells so fresh and clean down here."_

_..._

_"It was a Relicanth! It was an ancient Pokemon!"_

_..._

_"Excuse me Nurse Joy. Did you find anything about those crocks?"_

_..._

_"Guess what? I've been doing a little more research over at the ancient chamber and so far every indication pointed to ancient Pokemon and people interacting peacefully."_

* * *

"Ash! Can't you slow down! Why are you in such a hurry?" May asked, taking a deep breath as they come to a stop.

"I want to get to the gym so I can have my first gym battle. I'm too hyper!" Ash replied.

"Yeah, but can't you slow down." Aria said, placing her hands on her knees, taking a deep breath. "You've been running the whole time. Just like yesterday."

Ash grins, including with Pikachu. "Come on, let's go!"

He runs down the hill as the two girls try to call out to him but there was no stopping him.

"Boys, I swear." Aria started. "There's never a way you can stop him."

"We should catch up before we get separated with him." May said.

Aria nods and they started to chase after him.

* * *

**A kid from pallet town with a brand new world to see**

**I don't know what's ahead but it won't get the best of me**

**There's so much to learn and battles to be won**

**I've advanced so far and still there's always more to come**

**Take a step and I'm on my way gonna start all over again**

**I want to be hero (hero!)**

**Pokemon advance**

**I wanna be a hero (hero!)**

**Give it just one chance**

**And the future will decide**

**If there's a hero buried deep inside**

**I wanna be a hero!**

**Pokemon!**

* * *

"So, Petalburg Gym is a big deal to you huh?" May asked.

The girls were finally able to catch up to Ash so they decided to stop at the playground and sit down on the bench there.

"Are you kidding? If I win in a gym battle there I get a badge." He said. "Once I get eight of those badges I can compete in the Hoenn League."

"Me too." Aria replied.

"That sounds great...I guess." May didn't know what to say, but she was still unsure about something.

"Don't you want to compete in the Hoenn League?" Ash asked May.

"I- of course..." May's voice trails of a bit.

"I wonder what the gym leader is going to be like."

"I'm sure he's a nice guy." May replied.

"Wait, what? May do you know him?" Ash asked.

"What? Me?! Well, I really don't know him that well. The word on the street is that he's very kind, and also very strong―"

"I think we get it." Aria said, rubbing the back of her neck.

"We should head to the gym now, May, why don't you come with us?" Ash asked as he stood up.

"Um, well I really can't..." She said, standing up as well.

"Why not?"

"Well you see, well I just have to go and take care of a few things first." She said, waving at the two. "See ya!"

Before Ash could stop her she was long gone.

"Um, we should head to the gym..." Aria said, changing the subject, picking her bag off of the ground.

Ash nods and picks up his bag as well as Pikachu sat on his shoulder.

* * *

"Here it is." Aria said.

"This is the Petalburg Gym? This place looks cool." Ash said.

"Let's go inside."

Once they enter they noticed how quiet the place was when they got inside. When they reached the battlefield they noticed that it was empty.

"Hello? Is anyone here?" Ash asked aloud.

"Doesn't seem like anyone's here." Aria said, crossing her arms.

"Can you please keep it down?"

They turned around and noticed someone standing there holding a book in there hands. It was just a kid, probably at the age of 9 or 10 but he was really short too.

"I'm right in the middle of watching a video of the Silver Conference."

"Oh, were sorry." Ash apologized, rubbing the back of his head. "Sorry kid."

"Wow! It's really you!" The kid exclaimed, pointing at Ash. He looks over at Aria. "And you're here too! This is amazing!"

"Yes, um how do you know who we are?" Aria asked.

"You both were in the Johto Silver Conference! You both lost in the second round in a tag battle!"

Ash and Aria then fell on the ground, hating to remember that battle.

"Your name, your name is Alf!" He said pointing back at Ash. "And your name is...Aria!"

"It's Ash." He corrected.

"I watched you both compete at the Silver Conference live. I've been watching videos of it every since!"

"Wow..." Ash answered amazed.

"You both lost in the second round. Then you got knocked out by Harrison's Blaziken, and Maria's Skarmory! Your battle was totally awesome! I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. That final battle between Charizard and Blaziken was really cool! Both Pokemon just keep taking one attack after another! Especially between Skarmory and Ariados! It was amazing!"

Ash and Aria looked over at each other, thinking about their tag battle with Harrison and Maria once again. It was the first tag battle they ever done in a while. But the two of them just couldn't beat Harrison's and Maria's Pokemon.

"So...where's the gym leader?" Ash asked, changing the subject.

"That would be me." The kid said, pointing at himself.

Ash and Aria were even more confused.

"Yeah, sure..." Ash said sarcastically.

"What?! You think I'm not good enough?" The kid exclaimed.

"Hey, calm down guys." Aria said, getting in between them.

"What going on in there?"

They turned around and noticed a man standing by the door with a woman next to him and a familiar girl.

"May!?"

"Umm, hi." She replied, with a slight wave.

* * *

"This is my mother and father." May said.

"Please to meet you, I'm Norman." The man said.

"Hi, I'm Caroline." The woman greeted.

May points the the young boy sitting next to him. "And this is my little brother, Max."

"You see, our dad is the real gym leader." Max said.

"We really appreciate you both bringing May all the way home." Caroline thanked.

"You really don't have to thank us." Aria said. "Just doing something nice for a friend."

"Mom, dad, these are the two that lost on the second round at the Silver Conference!" Max exclaimed.

Aria and Ash sigh at the same time.

"It was the championship." Ash said tiredly.

"Why don't you both join us for lunch?" Caroline suggested. "You must be hungry after all of the traveling."

"Great, thanks." Aria replied.

* * *

"May tells us that you've been traveling for a long time." Caroline said, placing the sandwich down on the plate.

"Yeah, lots." Ash replied.

"I wish I could go traveling." Max mumbled.

"Have you two been going alone?"

"Actually, we've been traveling with some of our best friends, and Pikachu of course."

"Pikachu!" It replied.

"Well that's good, traveling with friends is much easier." Norman said.

"Oh yeah, and it's a lot more fun too." Aria added.

"Dad, Ash and Aria would like to have a gym battle with you." May said.

"Yeah, I hope that's okay." Ash asked.

"Of course. So how many badges do you have?" He asked.

"This is going to be our first one." Aria said.

"So you're just getting started."

"Yes. What are rules?" Ash asked.

"Three on three battle elimination."

Ash's eyes widen as Aria looked over at him. "I only have Pikachu with me." He said, placing his hand on his face. "I wanted to start over but I didn't know I would need more than one."

"It's alright, it won't be an official gym battle, what about you Aria?" He asked.

"I have four pokemon." She said. "I have other pokemon I left back at our home. But I got two here and brought two when I arrived here a while ago." She said.

"Alright, Ash, do you mind if I battle with her first?" Norman asked.

"Sure! Go on ahead. This gives me time to come up with a plan for when I battle you!" He said.

* * *

**Well that happened...for the next chapter when the battle happens it's not going to be a great description since it not often that I write about a Pokemon battle. Oh well, I hope I will get better in the future some day. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter!**


	5. EPISODE 3: PART 2

**Torchic's Capture  
Episode 3: Part 2**

"You can do it Houndoom! Fire Fang!" Aria commanded.

Houndoom nods in respond, firing building up around it's jaw and teeth.

"Vigoroth Focus Punch!" Norman commanded as well.

Vigoroth's hand glowed as it started to charge at Houndoom. Houndoom runs in to finish the battle off with their last attack.

Houndoom was weak to fighting types but Vigoroth wasn't a fighting type but could use a few fighting type moves. If Houndoom could land its attack without getting hit by Focus Punch it should win the battle. But, there was an explosion and the two pokemon came to a stop and looked over where it happened.

"What's going on?" Ash asked, standing up quickly as Pikachu jumped off his shoulder, getting in its fighting stance. But the two siblings were able to figure it out instantly once they heard a familiar motto.

"Team Rocket!" Cried May.

"We're here for your pokemon! Arbok go!" Jessie calls out her snake-like pokemon. Including James which was a Weezing.

"Use Smoke-Screen!" He commanded.

Weezing obeyed and filled the whole gym with smoke as the others covered their eyes and mouths.

"Hold your breath everyone!" Norman told them, coughing a bit.

"Arbok, headbutt!"

"Oh no you don't! Houndoom Thunder Fang!" Aria commanded, coughing.

Houndoom charges through the smoke but it couldn't find where Arbok was, which made it impossible to attack.

May called out her Torchic, but she didn't know what kind of moves to use and that's when Arbok attacked it.

Aria's grits her teeth together, trying to think of something to help them out.

"Pikachu! Thunder Bolt!" Ash commanded.

Pikachu nodded and sparks flew everywhere at least until they heard a scream and Pikachu came to a stop.

"Max, please tell me you didn't get hit?" Ash asked.

"It's one thing to see it on TV, but not to feel it up close." Max said, once the smoke cleared and they all saw him on the floor, his hair sticking out in places when he got hit by Pikachu's attack.

"Look, Team Rocket's gone." May pointed out.

"My Vigoroth is still here." Norman said.

"So is my Pikachu." Ash said.

"Even Houndoom." Aria replied.

They looked at May and noticed her looking around worriedly.

"What's wrong?" Aria asked her.

"My Torchic's gone!" She exclaimed.

"WHAT!?" They all shouted in disbelief.

They all ran through the broken wall and looked up in the air to see a hot air balloon that was shaped like a Meowth. They noticed Team Rocket in it with a bag on Jessie's back. Before Aria could call out a command to Houndoom they were long gone.

"Now what?" May asked, worriedly.

"We go get Torchic back." Ash said.

"Pikachu!" His pokemon said.

"Then were going to have to rely on scent. Houndoom, can you do it?" She asked her pokemon.

Houndoom nods in response and started to smell the ground as the others waited. When Houndoom got the scent he barks at Aria.

"It got the scent. Houndoom, lead the way."

Houndoom nods again and started to run on ahead while the others followed from behind.

* * *

"Over there, look." Norman whispered.

They were hiding behind a bush when Houndoom was able to locate where Team Rocket went to.

"Torhic..." May answered worriedly, noticing her pokemon in a small cage beside the hot air balloon. "My poor little Torchic!"

She ran out of the bush and her young brother followed behind them, but Ash and Aria tried to stop them, but they were already running towards it.

"Wait! There could be a―!" It was too late when they noticed them fall in a hole that was set up for them. "Trap." Ash finished in a whisper.

"We're coming!" Norman said, running out of the bush too, including with his wife.

"Wait, their could be another trap!" Aria told them, but they already fell in a hole across from them. The two siblings facepalmed as they were the only ones who didn't fall into one.

"Looks like you fell for it!" A voice answered mockingly and walked out from behind the hot air balloon.

"Thanks for dropping in!" James laughs.

Aria and Ash run over to the hole and help May and Max out of the hole while Houndoom and Pikachu fought off Team Rocket's pokemon.

"Norman are you two okay?" Aria asked, looking down in the hole they were in.

"We're just fine." He said.

Aria extended her hand out to him and helps him out, then his wife.

"Vigoroth, go!" Norman called out his pokemon.

His pokemon appeared and charged at Arbok making a direct hit.

"Weezing, attack!" James commanded.

"Houndoom use Flamethrower on Weezing!" Aria said pointing at the pokemon.

Houndoom nodded and launched the large flames at the pokemon, doing a lot of damage on it. While Team Rocket wasn't looking, Max sneaks behind their hot air balloon and grabs the cage Torchic was in and brought it over to May.

Arbok then grabs a hold of Vigorth with it's tail and make it impossible for the pokemon to escape.

"Pikachu, Vigoroth needs help!" Ash told his partner.

"Pikachu!" It spoke, charging at Arbok using Tackle. When Pikachu hit it from behind it make the pokemon let go of Vigoroth.

"How dare you three do that to my sweet little Torchic!" May exclaimed.

Arbok then charges at Pikachu with fast speed. Before Pikachu had a chance to get away he was tackled to the ground.

"Pikachu!" Cried Ash.

"Vigoroth use Slash!" Norman commanded.

His pokemon took it's chance and charged in at Team Rocket's pokemon, hitting them both at once and sending them back and hits Team Rocket.

"Houndoom, let's finish this with Flamethrower!" Aria commanded, pointing at Team Rocket.

"And Pikachu use Thunderbolt!"

The two pokemon looked at each other and nodded before building up their power and launched at Team Rocket. They land a hit on them as their hot air balloon exploded, which sent them flying in the sky. You could hear them saying 'Team Rocket's blasting off again' until they weren't in sight anymore.

"Oh Torhic, I'm so glad to have you back." May said, hugging her small pokemon.

Ash and Aria smile and saw the bright smile on Max's face.

"So this is the bond between pokemon and trainer, right Alf?" He asked.

Ash facepalmed.

"It's Ash." He corrected.

"And yes, this is how it is." Aria finished for him.

* * *

"I guess it's time for you three to head off." Caroline said.

"Sorry if we couldn't finish the battle Aria or even get to battle you Ash." Norman apologized.

"It's alright." They said at the same time. "There's always next time."

Max walks up to them.

"Since you don't know anything about pokemon. I should go too." He said.

May and Ash gasped. Norman nods in response.

"Your brother does know a lot about pokemon." He said. "And he just might be a big help to you."

"And a lot less worry for me." Caroline added.

"Ash, would it be too much of a bother if Max traveled along with you, May and Aria?" Norman asked.

"It's alright. Aria, Pikachu?" He asked.

"I'm cool with it." Aria said with a bright smile.

"Pikachu!" His pokemon said.

"This is going to be awesome!" Max exclaimed in happiness. "I have something I need to get the three of you." Norman said, holding out something to the three trainers. "A badge case to hold your winning gym badges."

They each take one and stare down at it.

"Wow, thanks a lot Norman." Ash thanked.

"Thank you." Aria said.

"And son, this is for you." Norman hands Max a small device in his hands.

"Oh wow! A Pokemon Navigator!" He exclaimed, turning it on.

"With one of those you'll know exactly where you're going." Norman explains. "I suggest you travel to the closest gym here which located in Rustboro City."

"Okay." Ash, Aria, and May said at the same time.

They waved their goodbyes to the two as the three trainers tried to catch up to Max.

"Hurry up you slowpokes!" Max told them.

"We're coming!" Ash said.

"We're right behind you." May said as they started to take the next trail to Rustboro City, where they can earn their gym badge.

* * *

**Yeah, I kinda made it seems a bit fair for Ash and Aria since in the actually show Ash didn't get his badge because he lost so I thought I change it up just a bit. Hope you enjoyed!**


	6. EPISODE 4

**Rescued by an Old Friend  
Episode 4**

**Recap of the last episode...**

_"Are you kidding? If I win in a gym battle there I get a badge." He said. "Once I get eight of those badges I can compete in the Hoenn League."_

_"Me too." Aria replied._

_"That sounds great...I guess." May didn't know what to say, but she was still unsure about something._

_"Don't you want to compete in the Hoenn League?" Ash asked May._

_"I- of course..." May's voice trails of a bit._

_..._

_"This is the Petalburg Gym? This place looks cool." Ash said._

_"Let's go inside."_

_Once they enter they noticed how quiet the place was when they got inside. When they reached the battlefield they noticed that it was empty._

_"Hello? Is anyone here?" Ash asked aloud._

_"Doesn't seem like anyone's here." Aria said, crossing her arms._

_"Can you please keep it down?"_

_They turned around and noticed someone standing there holding a book in there hands. It was just a kid, probably at the age of 9 or 10 but he was really short too._

_"I'm right in the middle of watching a video of the Silver Conference."_

_"Oh, were sorry." Ash apologized, rubbing the back of his head. "Sorry kid."_

_"Wow! It's really you!" The kid exclaimed, pointing at Ash. He looks over at Aria. "And you're here too! This is amazing!"_

_"Yes, um how do you know who we are?" Aria asked._

_"You both were in the Johto Silver Conference! You both lost in the second round in a tag battle!"_

_Ash and Aria then fell on the ground, hating to remember that battle._

_"Your name, your name is Alf!" He said pointing back at Ash. "And your name is...Aria!"_

_"It's Ash." He corrected._

_"I watched you both compete at the Silver Conference live. I've been watching videos of it every since!"_

_"Wow..." Ash answered amazed._

_"You both lost in the second round. Then you got knocked out by Harrison's Blaziken, and Maria's Skarmory! Your battle was totally awesome! I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. That final battle between Charizard and Blaziken was really cool! Both pokemon just keep taking one attack after another! Especially between Skarmory and Ariados! It was amazing!"_

_Ash and Aria looked over at each other, thinking about their tag battle with Harrison and Maria once again. It was the first tag battle they ever done in a while. But the two of them just couldn't beat Harrison's and Maria's pokemon._

_"So...where's the gym leader?" Ash asked, changing the subject._

_"That would be me." The kid said, pointing at himself._

_Ash and Aria were even more confused._

_"Yeah, sure..." Ash said sarcastically._

_"What?! You think I'm not good enough?" The kid exclaimed._

_"Hey, calm down guys." Aria said, getting in between them._

_"What going on in there?"_

_They turned around and noticed a man standing by the door with a woman next to him and a familiar girl._

_"May!?"_

_"Umm, hi."_

_..._

_"This is my mother and father." May said._

_"Please to meet you, I'm Norman." The man said._

_"Hi, I'm Caroline." The woman greeted._

_May points the the young boy sitting next to him. "And this is my little brother, Max."_

_"You see, our dad is the real gym leader." Max said._

_"We really appreciate you both bringing May all the way home." Caroline thanked._

_"You really don't have to thank us." Aria said. "Just doing something nice for a friend."_

_..._

_"Actually, we've been traveling with some of our best friends, and Pikachu of course."_

_"Pikachu!" It replied._

_"Well that's good, traveling with friends is much easier." Norman said._

_"Oh yeah, and it's a lot more fun too." Aria added._

_"Dad, Ash and Aria would like to have a gym battle with you." May said._

_"Yeah, I hope that's okay." Ash asked._

_"Of course. So how many badges do you have?" He asked._

_"This is going to be our first one." Aria said._

_"So your just getting started."_

_"Yes. What are rules?" Ash asked._

_"Three on three battle elimination."_

_Ash's eyes widen as Aria looked over at him. "I only have Pikachu with me." He said, placing his hand on his face. "I wanted to start over but I didn't know I would need more than one."_

_"It's alright, it won't be an official gym battle, what about you Aria?" He asked._

_"I have four pokemon." She said. "I have other pokemon I left back at our home. But I got two here and brought two when I arrived here a while ago." She said._

_"Alright, Ash, do you mind if I battle with her first?" Norman asked._

_"Sure! Go on ahead. This gives me time to come up with a plan for when I battle you!" He said._

_..._

_"Look, Team Rocket's gone." May pointed out._

_"My Vigoroth is still here." Norman said._

_"So is my Pikachu." Ash said._

_"Even Houndoom." Aria replied._

_They looked at May and noticed her looking around worriedly._

_"What's wrong?" Aria asked her._

_"My Torchic's gone!" She exclaimed._

_"WHAT!?" They all shouted in disbelief._

_..._

_"Wait! There could be a―!" It was too late when they noticed them fall in a hole that was set up for them. "Trap." Ash finished in a whisper._

_"We're coming!" Norman said, running out of the bush too, including with his wife._

_"Wait, their could be another trap!" Aria told them, but they already fell in a hole across from them. The two siblings facepalmed as they were the only ones who didn't fall into one._

_"Looks like you fell for it!" A voice answered mockingly and walked out from behind the hot air balloon._

_"Thanks for dropping in!" James laughs._

_..._

_"Oh Torhic, I'm so glad to have you back." May said, hugging her small pokemon._

_Ash and Aria smile and saw the bright smile on Max's face._

_"So this is the bond between pokemon and trainer, right Alf?" He asked._

_Ash facepalmed._

_"It's Ash." He corrected._

_"And yes, this is how it is." Aria finished for him._

_..._

_"Your brother does know a lot about pokemon." He said. "And he just might be a big help to you."_

_"And a lot less worry for me." Caroline added._

_"Ash, would it be too much of a bother if Max traveled along with you, May and Aria?" Norman asked._

_"It's alright. Aria, Pikachu?" He asked._

_"I'm cool with it." Aria said with a bright smile._

_"Pikachu!" His pokemon said._

_"This is going to be awesome!" Max exclaimed in happiness. "I have something I need to get the three of you." Norman said, holding out something to the three trainers. "A badge case to hold your winning gym badges."_

_They each take one and stare down at it._

_"Wow, thanks a lot Norman." Ash thanked._

_"Thank you." Aria said._

_"And son, this is for you." Norman hands Max a small device in his hands._

_"Oh wow! A Pokemon Navigator!" He exclaimed, turning it on._

_"With one of those you'll know exactly where you're going." Norman explains. "I suggest you travel to the closest gym here which located in Rustboro City."_

_"Okay." Ash, Aria, and May said at the same time._

_They waved their goodbyes to the two as the three trainers tried to catch up to Max._

_"Hurry up you slowpokes!" Max told them._

_"We're coming!" Ash said._

_"We're right behind you." May said as they started to take the next trail to Rustboro City, where they can earn their gym badge._

* * *

"So, when are we going to be stopping for lunch?" May asked.

"But I haven't seen one pokemon yet!" Max exclaimed.

"Pokemon don't always have to show their faces." Aria said, coming to a stop. "Pokemon have to stay close to their homes to protect it."

The others stopped and looked at her.

"It's true." Ash said, agreeing with her.

"Seriously, can we eat now?" May asked again.

"But I want to check the forest for pokemon!" Cried Max.

"Ugh! Stop!" Ash shouted.

The two were now silent because of Ash's shout.

"Ash, calm down." Aria said, shaking her head. "We can stop for a quick lunch break, then we can take another route to see so pokemon. Okay?"

"Alright!"

* * *

**A kid from pallet town with a brand new world to see**

**I don't know what's ahead but it won't get the best of me**

**There's so much to learn and battles to be won**

**I've advanced so far and still there's always more to come**

**Take a step and I'm on my way gonna start all over again**

**I want to be hero (hero!)**

**Pokemon advance**

**I wanna be a hero (hero!)**

**Give it just one chance**

**And the future will decide**

**If there's a hero buried deep inside**

**I wanna be a hero!**

**Pokemon!**

* * *

"So wait, did anyone pack the lunch?" Ash asked.

"I thought I gave it to you Ash." Aria said.

"I didn't get it. May?"

"No..." She answered.

"Me either..." Max said.

"Oh great."

They all sat down beside rocks and was staving.

"So I'm the only one who brought the pokemon food?" Aria opens her back and held a can in her hand. "Here Pikachu, take it."

Pikachu smiles brightly before taking the can and opening it to see a bunch of pokemon food inside of it.

"I wish Brock could have come with us." Ash said, looking over at Aria.

She nodded. "Same."

"Brock?" May said confused.

"Who's Brock?" Max asked.

"A friend we were traveling with before." Ash explains. "Knows lots about pokemon."

"But he really really knows how to cook well too." Aria added.

"Hey guys, look." Max pulls out a small box out of his bag.

"Isn't chocolate!" Cried Ash.

"We can split it so we all can get one." May said.

"Great, let's do it!"

But before Max, could, something flew in and snatched it out of his hand, leaving everyone dumbfounded. They looked up in the air to see a pokemon flying away from them, but they couldn't tell if it was holding something.

"That pokemon stole our chocolate!" May exclaimed.

She got up and started to run after it, including with her younger brother.

"Guys! It's just―!"

"We can't get separated from them. Lets go!"

Ash runs past Aria leaving her alone. She grumbles before catching up to the others. When she noticed them she came to a stop behind and noticed them looking up at the pokemon who stole the chocolate.

"It's a Taillow." She said.

"You know, we can always find more food in the forest, their bond to be food in the trees." Ash said, looking over at May.

"Pika! Pikachu!" Ash turns to his electric mouse pokemon and saw it pointing at a tree.

"Guys look! There's a bunch of fruit in these trees!" He exclaimed.

"Great! Lets get some of them." Aria said.

"Pikachu helps us out and knock down some of that fruit."

Pikachu nods and uses Thunderbolt to zap the fruit off the branches. They saw fruit falling down from each ends of the tree, at least, until more Taillow flew out of those trees and caught the fruit, glaring at them.

"Oh no, this is bad." Ash said.

"They almost look like their about to attack." Max pointed out.

"They got their fruit back so what's the problem?" May asked.

"We must be in their territory. They're probably mad because we were going to eat some of their fruit." Aria said, holding a poke ball in her hands. "We're going to have to battle our way out of this one. Electrike, come on out!" She commanded, throwing the poke ball out of her hand as it appeared next to Pikachu.

"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt." Ash commanded.

"And use Spark Electrike!" Aria commanded hers.

The two electric pokemon obeyed and launched their attack at the flock of Taillow. The attack managed to do a lot of damage to them that they all fell to the ground.

"Alright!" Ash said happily.

"Flying types are weak to electric types like Pikachu and Electrike." Max explains.

"That will hold them off for a while." Aria added.

But what shocked them was that they were getting right back up.

"Maybe not!" Ash exclaimed.

"But how could they have recovered so quickly!?" Max questioned.

"Electrike Discharge!" Aria commanded.

Electrike nodded, launching the far range attack everywhere and hits the flock of Taillow again, but they only shook it off and kept consciousness.

Electrike looked dumbfounded as its attack did nothing to the flock.

Only more Taillow started to show up which made it now impossible for them to escape.

"Forretress explosion!"

Ash and Aria instantly remember that voice as if they heard it before. They then noticed a pokemon stand right in front of them before it glowed and blew up right in front of them, causing a large explosion to happen.

When the smoke cleared, they saw someone standing in front of them.

"BROCK!" Ash and Aria exclaimed.

* * *

"We'll be safer outside of the forest." Brock said, leading the others to the creek.

"Thanks Brock, we were lucky you came by." Ash said.

"Well you sure really thank Forrestress." He said, kneeling down to Pikachu. "It's good to see you again Pikachu." He said.

"Pikachu!" It greeted, smiling brightly.

"Looks like you and Electrike both got hurt. Here." He takes out a potion and sprays it on Pikachu's arm, and then on Electrike's leg.

It strung a bit which made the pokemon blow on the wound.

"So, Brock, what are you doing here? I thought you were going home." Ash asked.

"I did go home." Brock said, getting up. "Everything is fine, so I decided to come back out. And then Professor Birch told me that you and Aria were heading to Rustboro City. So I decided to come out here and see if I could find you."

"Does that mean we're going to travel together again?" Aria asked, a smile appeared on her face.

"Yeah, if you don't mind."

"That's the best news we heard all day." Ash said.

"Let me introduce you to our new friends, this is May and her young brother Max. They're from Petalburg City" He said. "And this is our friend Brock, he's training to become the world's best Pokemon Breeder."

"Hi there." May greeted.

"It was so cool being a breeder huh?" Max asked.

"Yeah, I still got a lot to learn though. But, hi." Brock said.

"When we met Brock he was the gym leader in Pewter City." Aria explains.

"Wow you were?" Max said shocked.

"Our dad is a gym leader too." May said. "Isn't it true what Aria told us that you were a good cook?" She asked.

Brock looks over at her.

"It's true, you still practicing?" He asked.

"Of course! How could I forget how to cook from a great teacher?" She said.

Brock smiles, looking over at others. "Alright, I should have something we can all have a bite on." He opens his bag and looks for the food he brought with him, but he couldn't find it at all.

"T-there're gone!" He exclaimed. "There were 5 sandwiches in my backpack!"

"Brock, is it possible that you ate all of them?" Max asked.

"No! But I was just about to eat one when I heard the Thunderbolt and ran to see if it was Pikachu." He said.

"So they disappeared during the battle." Ash said.

"Then the other Taillow ate them. I'm so hungry." May complained.

"Taillow do tend to travel in flocks to find food and devour if they happen to come across. As you probably notice they're very territorial and pretty aggressive so other pokemon usually run and hide whenever they hear a flock of Taillow coming." Brock said.

"That explains why we could find any pokemon when we first got to the woods." Max said.

"And why the flock attacked us when we were trying to get some food." Aria added.

"But forget about the sandwiches, I can make something else for us. Aria, can you help me out?" He asked.

Aria nods, "Sure!"

* * *

"How do you feel now Electrike?" Aria asked, rubbing the top of her pokemon's head.

"Electrike!" It responded happily.

Aria smiles. "Great to know you're feeling better after that attack." She held out a poke ball. "Return."

Brock decided to continue to do the rest of the cooking so that Aria could check up on her pokemon before they ate something to fill their empty stomachs.

"Oh no! It's that same Taillow that ate the chocolate!" Aria heard Ash exclaim.

She turns around and saw it land on a rock right in front of Pikachu.

Taillow started to talk to Pikachu trying to tell it something.

"Can you tell what it's saying?" Max asked.

"That Taillow came back here to fight." Ash said.

"How come?" May asked.

"Because Pikachu and Electrike had such powerful attacks that it wanted Taillow to battle it." Aria explains.

"Alright, we accept!" Ash said grinning.

May looked at Ash blankly. "I don't get it, what's the point?"

"I guess Taillow wants to prove which pokemon is the best." Brock said. "A strong opponent always makes Tailllow want to battle. I'm guessing it wants a clear winner to decide it in a battle with Pikachu."

* * *

"Ash, you have to catch Taillow." Aria said.

"What, why?" He asked.

"Look at it. You can see how brave Taillow is but it's only getting hurt and wants to keep on battling! It won't last much longer if you keep it up." She said.

"Alright, if you say so." He takes out an empty poke ball. "Poke ball go!" And throws it at Taillow. The poke ball lands on the ground, flashing a bit and shaking. The others waited silently wondering if he caught Taillow or not. But when it stopped shaking and the flashing stopped, a smiles appeared on Ash's face.

"Alright, I caught it!" Ash picks up the poke ball and calls out Taillow.

When it appears it was breathing heavily and nearly passed out.

"Poor Taillow, it's exhausted from the battle." May said.

Brock takes out a potion and sprays it on Taillow.

"A shot of that and some rest and you'll be as good as new in no time." He said.

Taillow nodded, looking at the others and smiled.

"Alright, Taillow you're my first pokemon I caught in the Hoenn region, welcome to the group!" Ash said, holding out his arm for Taillow to climb on.

Taillow grins and climbs on and smiles brightly. But it only faded when it heard something.

"What is it?" Ash asked.

They turn around and saw the flock of Taillow again, and now there were a bunch of them flying in their direction.

Taillow then flew out towards the flock, trying to get them to listen to it.

"You won't talk them out of it Taillow!"

Taillow was confused and looked down to see a three people standing behind the flock. And once again, they started their motto.

"Not you guys again!" Max exclaimed.

"Now listen up Taillow, the more you battle the more sandwiches you get." Jessie said to the flock.

"Now hold on a minute!" Brock started. "You mean sandwiches like the five here an hour ago?"

"Well well, look who it is. The biggest twerp made a comeback." Meowth said.

"Well if you came back for lunch you're a little too late." James said.

"Yes, I already know that! They were my sandwiches!" He shouted.

"So what you're trying to say is that they were 'yours'?"

"I knew it was you!"

"Give them back!" Ash demanded.

"Yeah! We're starving!" May exclaimed.

"ENOUGH! Taillow go!" Jessie commanded.

The flock started to surround Pikachu, but Taillow got in front of it and tried to tell them that Pikachu is on their side. But it was interrupted when a timer went off.

"The food is ready." Brock said.

"And I'm ready to eat it!" May said.

The flock and the others stood by the pot of food and stared down at it, while Team Rocket stood a far distance away, dumbfounded.

"Pikachu! Use Thunderbolt!" Ash commanded.

Pikachu nods, turning to Team Rocket and launching the attack at them.

"Sorry about that Team Rocket but this time you're the ones who are too late. Pikachu already ate Brock's pokemon food." He said.

Team Rocket then was flying high in the sky once again until you couldn't see them anymore. So the others sat down and started to eat the great food that Brock was making. And the flock got to eat some of the pokemon food too.

"Ash and Aria weren't kidding, you're an awesome cook." May said.

"You should see what Aria can make." Brock said, patting her on the back. "Her cooking is as great as mine."

"Thanks Brock." She smiles.

The flock was already finished eat the pokemon food that it was time that they had to head back to their home.

Taillow then flew over to the flock, telling them its goodbyes and that it would miss them.

"Looks like your Taillow is saying goodbye to all of it's friends." Aria said.

"Guess so, but it's time for us to get moving. Let's head out to Rustboro City." Ash said.

"Great, but let's do the dishes first." Brock said.

The others grunted as Pikachu and Taillow were laughing at them for having to do the dishes. Aria however didn't mind at all. She was glad after all that Brock was back on a journey with her and Ash and now they can explore more places in Hoenn together.


	7. EPISODE 11

**The Pokemon Preserve  
Episode 11**

**Recap on the last episode...**

_"I wish Brock could have come with us." Ash said, looking over at Aria._

_She nodded. "Same."_

_"Brock?" May said confused._

_"Who's Brock?" Max asked._

_"A friend we were traveling with before." Ash explains. "Knows lots about pokemon."_

_"But he really really knows how to cook well too." Aria added._

_"Hey guys, look." Max pulls out a small box out of his bag._

_"Isn't chocolate!" Cried Ash._

_"We can split it so we all can get one." May said._

_"Great, let's do it!"_

_But before Max, could, something flew in and snatched it out of his hand, leaving everyone dumbfounded. They looked up in the air to see a pokemon flying away from them, but they couldn't tell if it was holding something._

_"That pokemon stole our chocolate!" May exclaimed._

_She got up and started to run after it, including with her younger brother._

_"Guys! It's just―!"_

_"We can't get separated from them. Lets go!"_

_..._

_"Oh no, this is bad." Ash said._

_"They almost look like their about to attack." Max pointed out._

_"They got their fruit back so what's the problem?" May asked._

_"We must be in their territory. They're probably mad because we were going to eat some of their fruit." Aria said, holding a poke ball in her hands. "We're going to have to battle our way out of this one. Electrike, come on out!" She commanded, throwing the poke ball out of her hand as it appeared next to Pikachu._

_"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt." Ash commanded._

_"And use Spark Electrike!" Aria commanded hers._

_The two electric pokemon obeyed and launched their attack at the flock of Taillow. The attack managed to do a lot of damage to them that they all fell to the ground._

_"Alright!" Ash said happily._

_"Flying types are weak to electric types like Pikachu and Electrike." Max explains._

_"That will hold them off for a while." Aria added._

_But what shocked them was that they were getting right back up._

_"Maybe not!" Ash exclaimed._

_"But how could they have recovered so quickly!?" Max questioned._

_"Electrike Discharge!" Aria commanded._

_Electrike nodded, launching the far range attack everywhere and hits the flock of Taillow again, but they only shook it off and kept consciousness._

_Electrike looked dumbfounded as its attack did nothing to the flock._

_Only more Taillow started to show up which made it now impossible for them to escape._

_"Forretress explosion!"_

_Ash and Aria instantly remember that voice as if they heard it before. They then noticed a pokemon stand right in front of them before it glowed and blew up right in front of them, causing a large explosion to happen._

_When the smoke cleared, they saw someone standing in front of them._

_"BROCK!" Ash and Aria exclaimed._

_..._

_"So, Brock, what are you doing here? I thought you were going home." Ash asked._

_"I did go home." Brock said, getting up. "Everything is fine, so I decided to come back out. And then Professor Birch told me that you and Aria were heading to Rustboro City. So I decided to come out here and see if I could find you."_

_"Does that mean we're going to travel together again?" Aria asked, a smile appeared on her face._

_"Yeah, if you don't mind."_

_"That's the best news we heard all day." Ash said._

_"Let me introduce you to our new friends, this is May and her young brother Max. They're from Petalburg City" He said. "And this is our friend Brock, he's training to become the world's best Pokemon Breeder."_

_"Hi there." May greeted._

_"It was so cool being a breeder huh?" Max asked._

_"Yeah, I still got a lot to learn though. But, hi." Brock said._

_"When we met Brock he was the gym leader in Pewter City." Aria explains._

_"Wow you were?" Max said shocked._

_"Our dad is a gym leader too." May said. "Isn't it true what Aria told us that you were a good cook?" She asked._

_Brock looks over at her._

_"It's true, you still practicing?" He asked._

_"Of course! How could I forget how to cook from a great teacher?" She said._

_..._

_"Oh no! It's that same Taillow that ate the chocolate!" Aria heard Ash exclaim._

_She turns around and saw it land on a rock right in front of Pikachu._

_Taillow started to talk to Pikachu trying to tell it something._

_"Can you tell what it's saying?" Max asked._

_"That Taillow came back here to fight." Ash said._

_"How come?" May asked._

_"Because Pikachu and Electrike had such powerful attacks that it wanted Taillow to battle it." Aria explains._

_"Alright, we accept!" Ash said grinning._

_May looked at Ash blankly. "I don't get it, what's the point?"_

_"I guess Taillow wants to prove which pokemon is the best." Brock said. "A strong opponent always makes Tailllow want to battle. I'm guessing it wants a clear winner to decide it in a battle with Pikachu."_

_..._

_"Ash, you have to catch Taillow." Aria said._

_"What, why?" He asked._

_"Look at it. You can see how brave Taillow is but it's only getting hurt and wants to keep on battling! It won't last much longer if you keep it up." She said._

_"Alright, if you say so." He takes out an empty poke ball. "Poke ball go!" And throws it at Taillow. The poke ball lands on the ground, flashing a bit and shaking. The others waited silently wondering if he caught Taillow or not. But when it stopped shaking and the flashing stopped, a smiles appeared on Ash's face._

_"Alright, I caught it!"_

_..._

_"You won't talk them out of it Taillow!"_

_Taillow was confused and looked down to see a three people standing behind the flock. And once again, they started their motto._

_"Not you guys again!" Max exclaimed._

_"Now listen up Taillow, the more you battle the more sandwiches you get." Jessie said to the flock._

_"Now hold on a minute!" Brock started. "You mean sandwiches like the five here an hour ago?"_

_"Well well, look who it is. The biggest twerp made a comeback." Meowth said._

_"Well if you came back for lunch you're a little too late." James said._

_"Yes, I already know that! They were my sandwiches!" He shouted._

_"So what you're trying to say is that they were 'yours'?"_

_"I knew it was you!"_

_"Give them back!" Ash demanded._

_"Yeah! We're starving!" May exclaimed._

_"ENOUGH! Taillow go!" Jessie commanded._

_The flock started to surround Pikachu, but Taillow got in front of it and tried to tell them that Pikachu is on their side. But it was interrupted when a timer went off._

_"The food is ready." Brock said._

_"And I'm ready to eat it!" May said._

_The flock and the others stood by the pot of food and stared down at it, while Team Rocket stood a far distance away, dumbfounded._

_"Pikachu! Use Thunderbolt!" Ash commanded._

_Pikachu nods, turning to Team Rocket and launching the attack at them._

_"Sorry about that Team Rocket but this time you're the ones who are too late. Pikachu already ate Brock's pokemon food." He said._

_Team Rocket then was flying high in the sky once again until you couldn't see them anymore. So the others sat down and started to eat the great food that Brock was making. And the flock got to eat some of the pokemon food too._

_"Ash and Aria weren't kidding, you're an awesome cook." May said._

_"You should see what Aria can make." Brock said, patting her on the back. "Her cooking is as great as mine."_

_"Thanks Brock." She smiles._

* * *

It's only been a couple of days since Ash and the others have been traveling to Rustboro City, and they have yet to reach it. But Ash did managed to catch another pokemon a couple of days ago which was a Treeko.

* * *

**A kid from pallet town with a brand new world to see**

**I don't know what's ahead but it won't get the best of me**

**There's so much to learn and battles to be won**

**I've advanced so far and still there's always more to come**

**Take a step and I'm on my way gonna start all over again**

**I want to be hero (hero!)**

**Pokemon advance**

**I wanna be a hero (hero!)**

**Give it just one chance**

**And the future will decide**

**If there's a hero buried deep inside**

**I wanna be a hero!**

**Pokemon!**

* * *

"There are so many pokemon here." Ash said, looking around at the pokemon that were climbing through the trees, and running along the woods.

"You never see this many pokemon in a forest like this. I think it's just a lucky day to see this many." Aria added, petting one of her pokemon on the head. "But, it's strange. Absol, do you think something is up?" She asked her pokemon.

Even though she couldn't understand pokemon, she always like to figure out how they felt about their surroundings, Aria's battle style, or even anything they had in common.

Absol shakes its head, looking at the pokemon.

Aria did remember that Absol was a very shy pokemon when she first met it when she first got to Professor's Birch's lab. Absol barely trusted her at all at the time, but the more time she tried to get its trust, they became friends. Absol's old trainer abandoned it because they thought Absol was a weak pokemon, but the truth is that Absol is a really powerful pokemon, and Aria didn't care at all if the pokemon was weak or strong, she's just happy to have a great friend along side her.

"It is strange." May said, looking at Absol. "It's not common to be all together like this right?" She asked.

"No, that is unless this place is a―"

They all looked up on top of a hill and heard something howl out loud. The pokemon jumps down off the hill and lands right in front of them.

"It's a Mightyena!" Max exclaimed.

Two more Mightyena appeared by the other one's side and they growled at them.

"They don't seem friendly either." Ash added.

"We can't run or they'll chase after us. Mightyena are fast pokemon, running will just get us caught." Aria said.

"Then we'll have to fight, Pikachu."

"Pika!"

Aria nods to Absol, telling it to help them out for this.

"Pikachu use Thunder Bolt!" Ash commanded.

Pikachu runs forward, then coming to a stop as it launched the attack at the first one. But it managed to dodge it with no problem and headbutt Pikachu, doing some major damage.

"Absol use Slash!" Aria said.

Absol charges in, ready to attack the first one it sees, but instead something knocks Absol back, causing it to stop fighting. It even hit Pikachu too and it confused everyone. Then, it comes back and hits Ash in the face, and knocks Aria onto the ground.

Whatever attacked them landed right in front of the Mighteyna, standing tall and proud, but also didn't take to kindly to Ash and the others.

"It's a Poocheyna!" Max said.

"Why are you attacking us?" Ash asked.

"That's enough Poocheyna!" A voice told the small pokemon.

A young girl steps in front of the four pokemon, looking at Ash and the others. "What are you doing here? This entire area is a pokemon preserve." She demanded.

Aria mental sighs.

_I figured much..._

Ash and Aria stood up at the same time and frowns. "Really? We're sorry, we didn't know." Ash said.

"We're just cutting through on our way to Rustboro City." May said.

The girl looked confused. "Rustboro City?"

"Yeah, we're going there to have a gym battle." Aria explains, taking out her pokeball and returning Absol to it.

"Oh, I didn't mean to sound suspicious, but we get poachers here sometimes so I really have to be careful. I'm Katrina, I'm the ranger for this preserve." She greeted.

* * *

"Here at the preserve we care for sick and injured pokemon back to health." Katrina said.

"I can't believe how many pokemon your able to take care of Katrina." May said.

"It's my job," She said. "Pokemon out here are going to need some protection, that's why I have my pokemon with me to help me out with protecting this preserve."

"I can relate to that." Aria said. "I want to protect pokemon who can't defend themselves. That's why I wanted to become a Pokemon Trainer, so I can become friends with many different kinds of pokemon."

"I understand that." Katrina said, "Bonding with pokemon is a huge deal, and they are apart of our life."

Aria nods in response.

* * *

Aria and the others were having a bite to eat while Max was sitting in front of Poocheyna, wondering about something. Right next to Aria was her Electrike because she thought it would be nice for it to be out in the open for a while.

"Poocheyna should be evolving into Mighteyna soon right?" Max asked, looking over at the sleeping pokemon.

"I wouldn't be too sure. That Poocheyna was born at the same time as those other three, but they all evolved into Mighteyna together and that was a while ago." Katrina said.

"So this Poocheyna is way behind schedule. I wonder why."

"Well, my guess is that its habit of using tackle attack has kept it out of too many battles. But I wouldn't worry about it."

Max stood up. "Why not?" He asked.

"It's really not a problem, Max. You've see as many pokemon, you known that each one evolves at its own pace. When the time is right Poocheyna will evolve. Its also may be possible that it'll never evolve at all. And that's okay too." Katrina explains.

"Not it's not!" Max exclaimed, startling Poocheyna. "When a pokemon evolves it gets much stronger, it even has more of the advantage to take care of itself in battle! Right Poocheyna, don't you want to evolve and get stronger?" Max asked.

Poocheyna looked confused, still half asleep.

"But you can't get a pokemon to evolve if it doesn't want to." Ash said.

"Ash's right." Aria said. "Pokemon have to gain experience while battling, and it will also make you're friendship grow. All of those wins and loses will only improve their battling style. Getting to know your pokemon will also make battling more interesting and fun."

"Why hasn't Pikachu evolved yet though?" May asked.

"Yeah, shouldn't it become a Raichu a while ago?" Max said.

"Well if Pikachu hasn't evolved yet I guess neither will my Torchic." May said sadly.

"That's not it May, you can't compare Pikachu and Torchic because they both are different." Ash said.

"Right, each different pokemon has different ways of evolving." Aria added.

"Are you saying there are different kinds of evolutions?" May asked confused.

"Allow me to explain." Brock said. "When Poocheyna evolves into Mighteyna or Pineco evolves into Forrestress for both of them its all the matter of the level they reached. One such as Pikachu need a group of special stones to shape their evolution. Pikachu will only evolve into Raichu if a Thunder Stone is the one that is used."

"Wow, thank you Brock." May said.

"Yeah, I think I understand now." Max replied. "Evolving sounds even cooler! Come on May, lets do it!"

"But Max, didn't you hear what, Ash, Aria, and Brock just told us? You can't make a pokemon evolve just because you want it to." She said, shaking her head.

"Why do you always have to be like that...all we have to do is giving Poocheyna a little push and it should evolve!" He said.

Everyone blinked at what Max had just said.

"What are you talking about?" Ash asked.

"Since we know this Poocheyna's friends have already evolved into Mighteyna and since all four were born at the same time, this one is obviously ready to evolve any minute now. And I don't want to miss it. We got to stay here until it happens, please?" He begged.

"We're suppose to be on our way to Rustboro." Ash said frowning.

"And remember there is no guarantee it will evolve soon, but I do have room if you want to stay here a while."

"But..."

"Ash, the gym is always open, so there's nothing to worry about. It's not like it's going to close down." Aria said, shaking her head.

"I guess..."

* * *

"Those two seem to be getting along well." Aria said, watching the two small electric pokemon play with each other.

"Yeah, Pikachu always loves to meet other electric types. Speaking of electric types, how did you get Electrike?" Ash asked.

"Oh, I got Electrike from Professor Birch when it was only an egg. Electrike is still young and is really excited to be going on a journey like this." She said.

"I can tell, Electrike has so much energy, it's like no one can stop it from doing anything." He laughs.

"Hey Ash," Max asked, entering the cabin.

He held Poocheyna in his hands, walking over to the table Aria and Ash were sitting at.

"Is it okay if I borrow Pikachu for a minute?"

"Okay...I guess." Ash said blankly.

"Don't do it Ash." May said, entering the house, holding her pokemon in her hands. "He's going to make them lose on purpose, so that Poocheyna can evolve, aren't you?"

"Max..." Aria started. "Is that what you've been doing?" She asked.

"Yeah..." He frowns. "But Aria, how else can I get Poocheyna to evolve?"

"I know this means a lot to you, but do you think this will mean anything to Poocheyna if it evolves and it doesn't feel like it accomplished anything? You don't want that." She said.

"I guess your right." Max leaves the cabin, not saying another word to any of them.

May looks over at Ash and Aria and sighs. "He's still got a lot to learn." She said.

They nod.

Aria stood up out of her chair. "I'll be back in a few minutes. Come on Electrike."

Her pokemon looks over at her before saying goodbye to Pikachu and jumping on her shoulder. They walked out of the cabin and Aria searched for Max. When she saw him sitting against the cabin, watching Poocheyna play with the three Mighteyna.

"Hey Max," She said, kneeling down beside him. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah..." He sighed. "I just want to help Poocheyna, I know I shouldn't cheat anymore but Poocheyna will get stronger if it evolves."

Aria looks at Electrike, then back at Max.

"You know, some pokemon think their strong even if they don't evolve. You've seen Ash's Pikachu, I learned more about pokemon because I saw how much he was training and getting stronger." She said.

"I guess." Max stood up. "I'm going to go hang out in the forest with Poocheyna."

Aria blinked before a smile spread on her face.

"Alright," She said, standing up. "But be careful. Actually, can I join you for a while?"

Max nodded, "Sure."

Aria looks around before looking back at Max. "I'll catch up with you in a few minutes okay?" She asked.

"Okay, come on Poocheyna." Max leaves with the pokemon before she turned to Electrike.

She sighs and shakes her head.

"What's up, Aria?"

She turns around and saw Katrina walk over to her.

"Hi Katrina, I'm just trying to help Max. What's going on at the preserve?" She asked.

"I found this in this forest." She opens her hand and shows Aria what she had found.

"Is that a net?" She asked.

"Right, so there are poachers in the forest. They're trying to capture the forest pokemon."

Aria looks back up at her. "Max went into the forest with Poocheyna, they could be in danger!" She exclaimed. "I'll go in there and get him, can you go tell the others what happened?"

Katrina nods, "Alright, but be careful, these poachers could be powerful." She warned.

Aria nods, "I will, don't worry. Come on Electrike."

The young pokemon barked in response before she started to run toward the forest to find Max. He shouldn't have gone to far, he has to be somewhere close by the cabin.

"Max? Where are you?" She called. "Max?"

"Aria! I'm over here!"

She looked around before she spotted him a few meters away. She ran over to him, kneeling down to his level, placing her hands on his shoulders. "Are you okay?" She asked concerned.

"I'm fine! But Team Rocket captured Poocheyna!" He exclaimed.

Aria eyes widen. "Where are they?"

"We're over here!" A voice sang.

Aria stood up, Electrike jumping on her shoulder once they heard that voice.

"Team Rocket!" They exclaimed in unison.

"Of course! Who else would capture the pokemon in the forest?" Jessie said sarcastically.

Aria gasped, "You were the ones who set up that net!"

"Yeah! We did, and we also caught this forest pokemon and Poocheyna!" Meowth said, gesturing to the pokemon in the net behind them, their hot air balloon attached to it.

Aria grits her teeth, trying to come up with a way to save the pokemon without getting them harmed by their attack.

_We can't attack, we'll only hurt the pokemon that they have captured...what am I going to do?_

Jessie then called out her pokemon and commanded it to launch its attack at them.

"Electrike, dodge it and...no, just dodge it for now!" She commanded, her face turns to anger.

Electrike obeyed, dodging her pokemon's attack. But before she could use just a simple attack like tackle, they didn't notice that the other two were attaching the net to the balloon and got inside. Before they took off, her pokemon launched a finally attack at Electrike, striking it's attack. When it landed Electrike went flying in the air, Aria gasping in fear.

"Electrike!" She exclaimed before catching her small pokemon in her arms. She then noticed how tired it must have been from all of the dodging that it wore itself out, Electrike is still just a baby and won't be able to handle such strength from certain pokemon.

Aria grits her teeth together, holding out a poke ball, "I'm sorry Electrike, you'll feel much better with some rest." She assured her pokemon before returning it to the poke ball. But before she could call out another pokemon, Team Rocket already took off to the skies.

"Team Rocket!" Aria shouted angrily at them.

"Max! Aria!"

They turn around and noticed Ash and the others running in their direction, worried looks on their face showed it all.

"Are you two alright?" Brock asked.

"Team Rocket is getting away and they captured the forest pokemon and Poocheyna!" Max exclaimed.

Ash grits his teeth, taking out a poke ball.

"Taillow, I need your help!" He called out his pokemon. "Stop that balloon!"

Taillow nods, flying towards where Team Rocket was, pecking them on their heads. When doing that, they weren't paying attention to how lower they were so the balloon was getting closer and closer to the ground. The others then chase after it, the three Mighteyna taking the lead, barking to Poocheyna.

"Poocheyna!" Max called, running a bit faster than the others, running beside the Mighteyna. "Use Bite Poocheyna to break through the net!"

Poocheyna wasn't sure, shaking its head worriedly.

"Don't be afraid! Just bite through the net! If you do you can save your friends!" Max assured the pokemon.

Poocheyna looks back at the pokemon behind it, noticing the worried looks on their face, sacred, terrified, anything that makes them very concerned about what was going to happen to them. Poocheyna shakes it head before grabbing a hold of the net with its teeth, biting it as hard as it could, at least until the net broke.

All of the pokemon fell out of the net, landing on the ground before Poocheyna ran over to Max. "Great job Poocheyna!" He praised the pokemon. Taillow flew back after the net was destroyed, landing on Ash's shoulder.

"Alright, Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!" Ash told his electric pokemon.

Pikachu nods before jumping into the air, charging up all of the electricity building up in it's red cheeks. Then it released it all at once, land right at the balloon, destroying it as Team Rocket flew away like a shooting star once again.

* * *

"You did it Poocheyna." Max praised the pokemon in front of him.

Poocheyna barked a few times before Max smiled.

"Ash and Aria were right, you fine just the way you are, even if you don't evolve." He said. But before he could say more, Poocheyna glowed a bright white, everyone gasping in shock.

"What's going on? Why is it glowing like that?" May asked confused.

"It's evolving." Katrina said.

Poocheyna was getting much bigger than it originally was, its tail was longer, it was taller, its nails grew, and more fur grew on its back.

"Poocheyna is a Mighteyna. It evolved for you Max." Aria said.

Max chuckles before walking up to the tall pokemon, hugging it. "That's amazing, Poocheyna- I mean Mighteyna."

The others smile down at them, enjoying them moment till the end. May never saw a pokemon evolve before, so it was something completely new to her, and Max. But it seems like they already learned everything about evolution, it was a big mystery after all and not going through the problems doesn't making evolving fun and creative at all.

Aria learned this way before she became a pokemon trainer, because Professor Oak taught her that. But she knew that pokemon have different ways of evolving. Through stones, through certain high level friendship, and depending what level their at they evolve then. She had already witness may of her pokemon evolve before her eyes, even her first pokemon when it was just a young Bulbasaur.

Aria smiles to herself, looking over at Ash who had a smile on his face as well.

_Maybe this wasn't a bad idea after all. I'm glad Ash and I got the chance again to travel through another region together. This is just the beginning though, our first gym battle is about to happen soon, I'm just so excited! I can't wait to meet so many new pokemon, I just want to become friends with all of them! But that's going to take time, besides, as long as I have my friends with me, I know that we'll be okay on our own. I just know it._


	8. EPISODE 15: PART 1

**Rustboro City and School?  
****Episode 15: Part 1**

**Recap on the last episode...**

_"It is strange." May said, looking at Absol. "It's not common to be all together like this right?" She asked._

_"No, that is unless this place is a―"_

_They all looked up on top of a hill and heard something howl out loud. The pokemon jumps down off the hill and lands right in front of them._

_"It's a Mightyena!" Max exclaimed._

_Two more Mightyena appeared by the other one's side and they growled at them._

_"They don't seem friendly either." Ash added._

_"We can't run or they'll chase after us. Mightyena are fast pokemon, running will just get us caught." Aria said._

_"Then we'll have to fight, Pikachu."_

_"Pika!"_

_..._

_"That's enough Poocheyna!" A voice told the small pokemon._

_A young girl steps in front of the four pokemon, looking at Ash and the others. "What are you doing here? This entire area is a pokemon preserve." She demanded._

_Aria mental sighs._

_I figured much..._

_Ash and Aria stood up at the same time and frowns. "Really? We're sorry, we didn't know." Ash said._

_"We're just cutting through on our way to Rustboro City." May said._

_The girl looked confused. "Rustboro City?"_

_"Yeah, we're going there to have a gym battle." Aria explains, taking out her pokeball and returning Absol to it._

_"Oh, I didn't mean to sound suspicious, but we get poachers here sometimes so I really have to be careful. I'm Katrina, I'm the ranger for this preserve." She greeted._

_..._

_"Here at the preserve we care for sick and injured pokemon back to health." Katrina said._

_"I can't believe how many pokemon your able to take care of Katrina." May said._

_"It's my job," She said. "Pokemon out here are going to need some protection, that's why I have my pokemon with me to help me out with protecting this preserve."_

_"I can relate to that." Aria said. "I want to protect pokemon who can't defend themselves. That's why I wanted to become a Pokemon Trainer, so I can become friends with many different kinds of pokemon."_

_..._

_"Poocheyna should be evolving into Mighteyna soon right?" Max asked, looking over at the sleeping pokemon._

_"I wouldn't be too sure. That Poocheyna was born at the same time as those other three, but they all evolved into Mighteyna together and that was a while ago." Katrina said._

_"So this Poocheyna is way behind schedule. I wonder why."_

_"Well, my guess is that its habit of using tackle attack has kept it out of too many battles. But I wouldn't worry about it."_

_Max stood up. "Why not?" He asked._

_"It's really not a problem, Max. You've see as many pokemon, you known that each one evolves at its own pace. When the time is right Poocheyna will evolve. Its also may be possible that it'll never evolve at all. And that's okay too." Katrina explains._

_"Not it's not!" Max exclaimed, startling Poocheyna. "When a pokemon evolves it gets much stronger, it even has more of the advantage to take care of itself in battle! Right Poocheyna, don't you want to evolve and get stronger?" Max asked._

_..._

_"Why hasn't Pikachu evolved yet though?" May asked._

_"Yeah, shouldn't it become a Raichu a while ago?" Max said._

_"Well if Pikachu hasn't evolved yet I guess neither will my Torchic." May said sadly._

_"That's not it May, you can't compare Pikachu and Torchic because they both are different." Ash said._

_"Right, each different pokemon has different ways of evolving." Aria added._

_"Are you saying there are different kinds of evolutions?" May asked confused._

_"Allow me to explain." Brock said. "When Poocheyna evolves into Mighteyna or Pineco evolves into Forrestress for both of them its all the matter of the level they reached. One such as Pikachu need a group of special stones to shape their evolution. Pikachu will only evolve into Raichu if a Thunder Stone is the one that is used."_

_"Wow, thank you Brock." May said._

_"Yeah, I think I understand now." Max replied. "Evolving sounds even cooler! Come on May, lets do it!"_

_"But Max, didn't you hear what, Ash, Aria, and Brock just told us? You can't make a pokemon evolve just because you want it to." She said, shaking her head._

_"Why do you always have to be like that...all we have to do is giving Poocheyna a little push and it should evolve!" He said._

_..._

_"Hi Katrina, I'm just trying to help Max. What's going on at the preserve?" She asked._

_"I found this in this forest." She opens her hand and shows Aria what she had found._

_"Is that a net?" She asked._

_"Right, so there are poachers in the forest. They're trying to capture the forest pokemon."_

_Aria looks back up at her. "Max went into the forest with Poocheyna, they could be in danger!" She exclaimed. "I'll go in there and get him, can you go tell the others what happened?"_

_Katrina nods, "Alright, but be careful, these poachers could be powerful." She warned._

_Aria nods, "I will, don't worry. Come on Electrike."_

_..._

_"We're over here!" A voice sang._

_Aria stood up, Electrike jumping on her shoulder once they heard that voice._

_"Team Rocket!" They exclaimed in unison._

_"Of course! Who else would capture the pokemon in the forest?" Jessie said sarcastically._

_Aria gasped, "You were the ones who set up that net!"_

_"Yeah! We did, and we also caught this forest pokemon and Poocheyna!" Meowth said, gesturing to the pokemon in the net behind them, their hot air balloon attached to it._

_Aria grits her teeth, trying to come up with a way to save the pokemon without getting them harmed by their attack._

_We can't attack, we'll only hurt the pokemon that they have captured...what am I going to do?_

_Jessie then called out her pokemon and commanded it to launch its attack at them._

_"Electrike, dodge it and...no, just dodge it for now!" She commanded, her face turns to anger._

_..._

_"Poocheyna!" Max called, running a bit faster than the others, running beside the Mighteyna. "Use Bite Poocheyna to break through the net!"_

_Poocheyna wasn't sure, shaking its head worriedly._

_"Don't be afraid! Just bite through the net! If you do you can save your friends!" Max assured the pokemon._

_Poocheyna looks back at the pokemon behind it, noticing the worried looks on their face, sacred, terrified, anything that makes them very concerned about what was going to happen to them. Poocheyna shakes it head before grabbing a hold of the net with its teeth, biting it as hard as it could, at least until the net broke._

_..._

_"Ash and Aria were right, you fine just the way you are, even if you don't evolve." He said. But before he could say more, Poocheyna glowed a bright white, everyone gasping in shock._

_"What's going on? Why is it glowing like that?" May asked confused._

_"It's evolving." Katrina said._

_Poocheyna was getting much bigger than it originally was, its tail was longer, it was taller, its nails grew, and more fur grew on its back._

_"Poocheyna is a Mighteyna. It evolved for you Max." Aria said._

_Max chuckles before walking up to the tall pokemon, hugging it. "That's amazing, Poocheyna- I mean Mighteyna."_

* * *

"The Rustboro Gym should be located over there." Brock said, holding up the small book and pointing in a direction.

"Great, the sooner we get there we can have a gym battle." Ash said.

"There's no rush Ash, we have all day long to do something fun." Aria said.

He sighs, "...fine."

* * *

**A kid from pallet town with a brand new world to see**

**I don't know what's ahead but it won't get the best of me**

**There's so much to learn and battles to be won**

**I've advanced so far and still there's always more to come**

**Take a step and I'm on my way gonna start all over again**

**I want to be hero (hero!)**

**Pokemon advance**

**I wanna be a hero (hero!)**

**Give it just one chance**

**And the future will decide**

**If there's a hero buried deep inside**

**I wanna be a hero!**

**Pokemon!**

* * *

Before Ash and the others left, Aria caught her eyes on something and stopped in one spot. She saw something cowering in a under a bench. It was a Poliwag.

"Hold up guys." Aria said, walking toward the scared pokemon.

Poliwag noticed her, backing up towards the wall. Aria kneels down, looking at the pokemon with a reassuring smile. "It's alright," She said. "I'm not going to hurt you. Maybe we can help you." She said.

Poliwag looks at her, unsure if it should come out from under the bench. But when it noticed the reassuring smile, it turned to her and walked out. Aria picks up the pokemon, noticing some kind of cloth wrapped around its tail that had a symbol on it.

"What is that?" She wondered.

"There you are Poliwag!" They all look up and saw a woman walk over to them, looking at Poliwag with a worried look. "I've been looking everywhere for you."

Poliwag looks at her before jumping into her arms. "I was so worried, did you find Poliwag?" She asked Aria.

"Uh, yeah." She answered.

"I can't thank you enough." She smiled.

"Miss Roxanne!" A young voice called.

Roxanne turns around, noticing a few children running over to them.

"You found Poliwag!" The kid exclaimed.

Aria noticed out all of the rest of them, one of them looked scared. Was he scared of pokemon?

"Now Kenny, I hope you've learned from all of this." Roxanne said to the boy.

"Yes." Kenny answered, looking down at the floor.

"There's no need to be afraid and don't be upset either because you've tried your hardest." She looks at the other students. "Alright class, its time to head back to the training academy." She said to them.

"Excuse me, but what's that?" Ash asked.

Roxanne looked over at the trainer. "It's officially known as Pokemon Trainer School, its an academy right here in town where students can learn all about pokemon." She explains.

"Wow." Max said amazed.

"These children are in my beginners class, we're on a field trip but its just about time for us to be heading back now." Roxanne said.

"That's so cool! I would love to go to that academy!" Max exclaimed happily.

"Don't forget, we still have our gym battle coming up." Ash said.

Roxanne's eyes widen slightly, looking over at Ash. "Are you here for a battle at the Rustboro Gym?" She asked.

"Yep, so is Aria and May." He said.

"Well that just works out just perfectly." Roxanne said. "The Rustboro Gym happens to be right next door to our training academy."

"Really?" Ash said surprised.

Roxanne nods, "So how about you all stop by and visit the school before you head off to your gym battle?"

"That would be great." Brock said.

"Alright!" Max smiles.

"But-"

"We have plenty of time Ash." Aria said cutting him off. "It's not like it's going anywhere."

Ash sighs, "Alright..."

* * *

When they reached the academy, a man gave them the tour while Roxanne went back to teaching the beginners class. When they enter a room, they noticed that this was a medical room filled with students.

"This room is for students to learn how to become Pokemon Doctors." The man said.

"Pokemon Doctors..." Brock smiles to himself.

Aria looks around a bit.

_This place has everything a student needs to become what they want..._

When they get to the next class, they saw people exercising with their pokemon, doing tricks and using moves into a pattern like style.

"This is a specialized class for pokemon contest."

"This is pretty interesting." Aria said to herself.

"This class is totally for me!" May exclaimed.

Aria then remembered that a couple of days ago that her and brother had a chance to help a coordinator out when there was a contest held a while ago. It was amazing for her since it was the first time she saw a pokemon contest.

When they reach another room, Aria and Ash were pretty excited about this one. Below them they saw a battlefield and two trainers battling it out with their pokemon.

"And this class is for students who want to become pokemon trainers."

"This is so cool." Ash said amazed.

"This is like a perfect place for the both of us to get some training done." Aria added.

Max looks at the man. "Excuse me but can we go to Roxanne's beginners class?" He asked.

"Oh yes, of course."

* * *

When they enter the last room, Ash and Aria heard a familiar voice when entering it. On a monitor they saw the familiar professor from Pallet Town.

"So in conclusion, there are many different types of pokemon in existence, is that clear?" He asked.

"Yes professor." The students answered.

Ash ran up to the monitor, a bright smile on his face. "Professor Oak!"

"Hey Ash." The professor greeted. "And Aria, Brock, and May. How are you?" He asked.

"Hi professor, we're going great." Aria answered.

The professor looks over at Max. "And you must be Max." He said.

"I, um...hello professor." He said shyly.

"You see everyone, here at the training academy we receive lectures from Professor Oak through a video phone." Roxanne explains.

"Since you are here Ash, I'm assuming that you and Aria have already finished your gym battle." The professor said.

"Umm, about that..." Ash didn't know how to tell him.

"So who went first? Did you both win?" he asked.

"Actually professor we haven't had our battle yet." Roxanne explains.

"Wait, you're the gym leader?!" Ash exclaimed.

"Yes." She said with a nod.

"Roxanne was one of the accomplished students that graduated from this academy. Her battles were always flawless and was promoted to gym leader." The man explains.

"Wow, that's pretty cool." Aria said.

Roxanne looks over at her. "Well thank you Aria, but I'll be teaching this class until tomorrow night, so do you mind if we put off our gym battle until the day after?"

"No problem." Ash replied.

"Good luck to the both of you and have a great battle." The professor said.

"Thanks." They said in unison.

The professor looks over at the students. "And you kids keep catching those pokemon, goodbye for now."

The video shuts off as the others looked at each other.

"Well it doesn't hurt to look around and try to get involve doesn't it?" Aria said. "And Ash, this might help out with our gym battle."

Ash nods. "Great idea, lets do it!"


	9. EPISODE 15: PART 2

**Hi guys! Sorry if this chapter is a little late, the website I was using to write these episodes out wasn't working for sometime and I had to wait for it to start working again, but I'll try to update this as soon as possible! Hope you enjoy.**

* * *

**Stolen Pokemon  
Episode 15: Part 2**

"Um, where did May go?" Ash asked, looking around.

"Didn't she head to do one of the classes?" Aria said confused. "I could have heard her saying something about exploring around the academy for a bit. Oh well."

Ash, Aria, Brock were helping out with one of Roxanne's classes and May left to attend one of the classes she was interested in. Max was in the class too, so they all had a chance to learn something from Roxanne.

"Ash, Aria, Brock, is it alright if my students meet your pokemon? It would be a real honor." Roxanne said.

"Sure." They said in unison, taking out the poke balls they carried. They called out their pokemon as they appeared right in front of them, which amazed the students as they saw each one of their pokemon.

"Alright class, now did you know that Ash and Aria are both very skilled trainers and that they were in one of the best eight in the Johto League? And that Brock here use to be the Gym Leader of Pewter City Gym? So pay attention. You can learn a lot from them."

The students nod in unison, "Okay."

Roxanne looks over at Aria. "I heard from Ash that your dream isn't to become a Pokemon Master like his. What is your dream? If you don't mind me asking. I'm sure it will help the students." She said.

Aria blinked for a moment, looking over at her brother who nodded. Aria looks at the students then at her pokemon. She smiles, walking over to Ivysaur and petting it on the head.

"Well, my dream is to become friends with many different kinds of pokemon. It's the best way to know what's going on around the world so you can be prepared if you come across another pokemon like it. That's why I'm a pokemon trainer, it's because if I want to become friends with them, then why not go on a journey and make some?" She said, looking over at Roxanne. "This Ivysaur here was my first pokemon I have ever gotten when I started my journey, we've work very hard to get where we are now. As long as you believe, there's nothing that can stop you from there, at least that's what I think."

"Wow, that's amazing!" One of the students said amazed.

"That's so cool! I wish I was adventuring to meet some new pokemon!"

"When you work so hard you can't give up," She continued. "I never gave up on my dream. I've been thinking about having a journey since I was little. Right Ash?" She looks over at her brother.

"Right." He answered.

Then Roxanne took over, explaining to the students how it is to be a pokemon trainer, but Aria noticed that out of all of them, there was one boy that was nervous about being near pokemon. It was the same boy from earlier, Kenny was his name.

"Ash." She said to her brother to get his attention.

Her turns to face her. "What is it?" He asked as Pikachu jumped onto his shoulder.

"That boy over there." She pointed out. "I don't think he's a big fan of pokemon."

"Really?" Ash held Pikachu in his hands and walked over to Kenny. He looks up at Ash, noticing him walk over to him, seeing the pokemon in his hands. He turns his back to him, walking away.

"Hey wait." Ash said, stopping in his tracks. "There's no need to be scared." He assured.

Kenny stops, facing him nervously.

"I just want to introduce you to my friend Pikachu." He said. "My best friend really."

"Your best friend?" Kenny said confused.

Ash nods. "Yeah, we do everything together."

"Pikachu!" His pokemon said, smiling brightly.

"Do you want to pet him?" Ash asked.

Kenny wasn't sure at first, but reached out to the pokemon slowly, but he stops when he heard something cry out, launching an attack in their direction.

"Look out!" Max warned, pushing Kenny down on the ground to save him from the attack that was water gun from Poliwag.

"Kenny, Max, are you alright?" Roxanne asked.

"Yeah." They said in unison.

"Sorry." A boy by the name Tommy apologized. "I accidentally stepped on Poliwag's tail."

"Liar!" Anita exclaimed, holding a small Pidgey in her arms. "I can tell you did it on purpose!"

Aria looks at the young girl, her eyes widen.

"Did not!" Tommy refused. "Why would I possibly do something like that?"

Aria could see the look in his eyes, something that she has seen before.

_Is it possible that he's jealous?_ She wondered.

* * *

Sometime has passed and now the class was outside to actually do some battling.

"Now, let's begin our pokemon battle training. Both of you will take one pokeball and will continue battling until I judge one of your pokemon unable to battle." Roxanne said.

It was currently Tommy and Max who were going to battle, which got a bit interesting.

"Alright Max, good luck." Ash said.

Then he turns, noticing someone running over to them. Aria followed his gaze until they noticed it was May.

"Where have you been May?" Brock asked.

"Oh looking around." She said smiling.

They look back at the battling and saw that they picked one poke ball, going to one end of the battlefield.

"Are the competitors ready to begin?" Roxanne asked.

"Yes." They said in unison.

"Let's start the match!"

When they called out their pokemon, Aria noticed that Max had an advantage since the pokemon he had was a water type, which Tommy's was a fire type. Max had a Poliwag, and Tommy had Magby.

"Max has the advantage." Brock said. "Fire types are weak to water types."

"That is, if he knows what he is doing." Ash added.

Aria looks over at Max, noticing that he was currently lost in thought, which gave Tommy the opportunity to attack.

"Why isn't he making a move?" May asked.

"He's probably trying to come up with a good way of attacking, but he doesn't look like he knows what he's doing." Aria replied.

Max quickly realized that Tommy was attacking and told his pokemon to use Defense Curl, which blocked the attack from Magby. But all he was doing was raising Poilwag's defense and attack while it was taking all of the damage from flamethrower.

"Magby flamethrower!" Tommy commanded.

Right when Magby was about to launch the attack, an alarm went off, which caught everyone's attention. Then the man from before ran out of the building, standing in front of Roxanne.

"Someone has stolen all of the pokemon! They're all gone!" He exclaimed.

"What!" Roxanne's eyes widen.

"How could that happen?" Ash wondered.

That was when they heard laughter, turning their attention to the tall robot that looked like a Wurmple. But hearing the same motto from before, Aria and the others could tell that it was Team Rocket. They then spot spot a net that was hanging off the robot which caught everyone's attention. A metal door opened near the horn of the robotic Wurmple, standing there was the group of three.

"We were the ones who took them!" Jessie said darkly.

"And we're going to take them back!" Ash exclaimed, turning to his pokemon. "Pikachu, Thunderbolt!"

Pikachu nods, launching is powerful attack at them, but the doors only shut, stopping the attack from reaching them. The door opens again as they taunted Ash and Pikachu. They kept on doing it over and over again until Ash grits his teeth together.

"Come on! There has to be a way to get a hit!" He exclaimed.

Right at the exact same time, Aria and Brock called out their one pokemon to help Ash out. Forrestress and Ivysaur. But also Jessie called out her Serviper, which used Poison Tail against Forrestress.

"Ivysaur, use take down!" Aria commanded.

Charging foward, Ivysaur tried to land a hit on Serviper, but it only used Poison Tail again, which landed a hit on Ivysaur, launching her pokemon back at her.

"Ivysaur no!" Aria exclaimed as she kneels down to her pokemon, noticing the marks on it. "This isn't good." She murmured. "Not even you can't beat them. I'm sorry, my friend."

May started to get involved as well, but James called out his Cacnea which made it even harder to fight them.

"What are we going to do?" Aria asked worriedly as she returned her injured pokemon back inside of the poke ball, placing it in her pocket. "We can't hit them at all! They're way to powerful!"

Max then wanted to try attacking, but Kenny stopped him, which surprised them all. "In this situation, um...it's better to use an offensive attack." He said.

Roxanne smiles. "Kenny, that's really great advice." She said.

"Wow Kenny, thanks." Max nods, turning to face their enemy. "Go Poliwag, water gun!" He commanded.

Poliwag nods as its attack hit Serviper, which did some damage to it, which surprised Max a lot.

Tommy grits his teeth, commanding Magby to attack using flamethrower, which landed a direct hit on Cacnea.

"We should help too!" Ash said.

"Wait!" Roxanne told him, stopping him from commanding his pokemon to attack.

Ash turns to face her. "What's wrong?" He asked.

Roxanne looks at the students, a grin on her face. "Why don't you wait and give the boys a little longer to see what they will do in this battle."

"What if it gets dangerous?" Aria asked, standing by her brother's side. "Don't worry, I'll step in, only if necessary."

Their plan was surprising Aria, they were working together to get the pokemon back. One by one, they were all doing their part of the plan. Max was distract Team Rocket while Tommy sneaks around from behind and uses flamethrower to light them on fire from behind. Kenny had come up with the plan and he was the one who deserved the credit, but all of them deserve it.

Team Rocket then realized that the robot started to get really hot that they could feel the heat through their shoes. The were freaking out once they felt the pain from the flamethrower. Then Anita sent the Pidgey to break the rope that held the poke balls up since Team Rocket was distracted.

Roxanne then held out a poke ball. "Why don't you let me take care of it from here?" She asked, grinning.

Max and Tommy look at her and nod in unison.

"Geodude, come on out!" She called out her pokemon. "Rollout attack!"

Geodude obeyed, curling into a ball as it quickly headed towards the robot. Ash and Aria stared at the pokemon, seeing how fast it was.

"It's so fast!" Ash said surprisingly.

"Such incredible speed!" Aria added.

Geodude crashes into the robot, destroying it as Team Rocket was sent flying into the sky once again...

The students cared as the boys started to praise each other for their hard work, including with Anita.

"Well it looks like now they've all become buddies." May said.

"And that's all going to help them become better trainers." Ash added.

"Yes, that's true." Roxanne replied.

"You're Geodude is an awesome pokemon Roxanne." Brock said. "Being an expert on rock types let me say I'm impressed."

"Thank you Brock."

He smiles, looking over at Ash and Aria. "Better watch out Ash and Aria. Looks like you're in for a quite a battle tomorrow."

"Believe us, we know." Aria said grinning as they turned to Roxanne.

"That's okay, the stronger opponent, the stronger we battle." Ash said.

Roxanne chuckles at their expression. "Sounds like you're both are ready, maybe I should be the one watching out for you."


	10. EPISODE 17: PART 1

**Yes I know! I finally updated! I'm sorry if this was such a late update! I've been sick during Christmas and I couldn't work on this, and after that I had school regents exams so I couldn't write either so I've been busy. Sorry about that, but I am finally come back to this story! I'm also planning on updating tomorrow or Saturday, I'm not sure when so I can't make any promises. Anyways, enjoy!**

* * *

**The Broken Pokenav  
Episode 17: Part 1**

**Recap of the last episode...**

_"What is that?" She wondered._

_"There you are Poliwag!" They all look up and saw a woman walk over to them, looking at Poliwag with a worried look. "I've been looking everywhere for you."_

_Poliwag looks at her before jumping into her arms. "I was so worried, did you find Poliwag?" She asked Aria._

_"Uh, yeah." She answered._

_"I can't thank you enough." She smiled._

_"Miss Roxanne!" A young voice called._

_Roxanne turns around, noticing a few children running over to them._

_"You found Poliwag!" The kid exclaimed._

_Aria noticed out all of the rest of them, one of them looked scared. Was he scared of pokemon?_

_"Now Kenny, I hope you've learned from all of this." Roxanne said to the boy._

_"Yes." Kenny answered, looking down at the floor._

_..._

_"These children are in my beginners class, we're on a field trip but its just about time for us to be heading back now." Roxanne said._

_"That's so cool! I would love to go to that academy!" Max exclaimed happily._

_"Don't forget, we still have our gym battle coming up." Ash said._

_Roxanne's eyes widen slightly, looking over at Ash. "Are you here for a battle at the Rustboro Gym?" She asked._

_"Yep, so is Aria and May." He said._

_"Well that just works out just perfectly." Roxanne said. "The Rustboro Gym happens to be right next door to our training academy."_

_"Really?" Ash said surprised._

_Roxanne nods, "So how about you all stop by and visit the school before you head off to your gym battle?"_

_"That would be great." Brock said._

_..._

_"So in conclusion, there are many different types of pokemon in existence, is that clear?" He asked._

_"Yes professor." The students answered._

_Ash ran up to the monitor, a bright smile on his face. "Professor Oak!"_

_"Hey Ash." The professor greeted. "And Aria, Brock, and May. How are you?" He asked._

_"Hi professor, we're going great." Aria answered._

_The professor looks over at Max. "And you must be Max." He said._

_"I, um...hello professor." He said shyly._

_"You see everyone, here at the training academy we receive lectures from Professor Oak through a video phone." Roxanne explains._

_"Since you are here Ash, I'm assuming that you and Aria have already finished your gym battle." The professor said._

_"Umm, about that..." Ash didn't know how to tell him._

_"So who went first? Did you both win?" he asked._

_"Actually professor we haven't had our battle yet." Roxanne explains._

_"Wait, you're the gym leader?!" Ash exclaimed._

_"Yes." She said with a nod._

_"Roxanne was one of the accomplished students that graduated from this academy. Her battles were always flawless and was promoted to gym leader." The man explains._

_"Wow, that's pretty cool." Aria said._

_Roxanne looks over at her. "Well thank you Aria, but I'll be teaching this class until tomorrow night, so do you mind if we put off our gym battle until the day after?"_

_"No problem." Ash replied._

_..._

_"Well it doesn't hurt to look around and try to get involve doesn't it?" Aria said. "And Ash, this might help out with our gym battle."_

_Ash nods. "Great idea, lets do it!"_

_..._

_Roxanne looks over at Aria. "I heard from Ash that your dream isn't to become a Pokemon Master like his. What is your dream? If you don't mind me asking. I'm sure it will help the students." She said._

_Aria blinked for a moment, looking over at her brother who nodded. Aria looks at the students then at her pokemon. She smiles, walking over to Ivysaur and petting it on the head._

_"Well, my dream is to become friends with many different kinds of pokemon. It's the best way to know what's going on around the world so you can be prepared if you come across another pokemon like it. That's why I'm a pokemon trainer, it's because if I want to become friends with them, then why not go on a journey and make some?" She said, looking over at Roxanne. "This Ivysaur here was my first pokemon I have ever gotten when I started my journey, we've work very hard to get where we are now. As long as you believe, there's nothing that can stop you from there, at least that's what I think."_

_"Wow, that's amazing!" One of the students said amazed._

_"That's so cool! I wish I was adventuring to meet some new pokemon!"_

_"When you work so hard you can't give up," She continued. "I never gave up on my dream. I've been thinking about having a journey since I was little. Right Ash?" She looks over at her brother._

_"Right." He answered._

_..._

_"Ash." She said to her brother to get his attention._

_Her turns to face her. "What is it?" He asked as Pikachu jumped onto his shoulder._

_"That boy over there." She pointed out. "I don't think he's a big fan of pokemon."_

_"Really?" Ash held Pikachu in his hands and walked over to Kenny. He looks up at Ash, noticing him walk over to him, seeing the pokemon in his hands. He turns his back to him, walking away._

_"Hey wait." Ash said, stopping in his tracks. "There's no need to be scared." He assured._

_Kenny stops, facing him nervously._

_"I just want to introduce you to my friend Pikachu." He said. "My best friend really."_

_"Your best friend?" Kenny said confused._

_Ash nods. "Yeah, we do everything together."_

_"Pikachu!" His pokemon said, smiling brightly._

_"Do you want to pet him?" Ash asked._

_Kenny wasn't sure at first, but reached out to the pokemon slowly, but he stops when he heard something cry out, launching an attack in their direction._

_"Look out!" Max warned, pushing Kenny down on the ground to save him from the attack that was water gun from Poliwag._

_"Kenny, Max, are you alright?" Roxanne asked._

_"Yeah." They said in unison._

_"Sorry." A boy by the name Tommy apologized. "I accidentally stepped on Poliwag's tail."_

_"Liar!" Anita exclaimed, holding a small Pidgey in her arms. "I can tell you did it on purpose!"_

_Aria looks at the young girl, her eyes widen._

_"Did not!" Tommy refused. "Why would I possibly do something like that?"_

_..._

_"Someone has stolen all of the pokemon! They're all gone!" He exclaimed._

_"What!" Roxanne's eyes widen._

_"How could that happen?" Ash wondered._

_That was when they heard laughter, turning their attention to the tall robot that looked like a Wurmple. But hearing the same motto from before, Aria and the others could tell that it was Team Rocket. They then spot spot a net that was hanging off the robot which caught everyone's attention. A metal door opened near the horn of the robotic Wurmple, standing there was the group of three._

_"We were the ones who took them!" Jessie said darkly._

_..._

_"Geodude, come on out!" She called out her pokemon. "Rollout attack!"_

_Geodude obeyed, curling into a ball as it quickly headed towards the robot. Ash and Aria stared at the pokemon, seeing how fast it was._

_"It's so fast!" Ash said surprisingly._

_"Such incredible speed!" Aria added._

_Geodude crashes into the robot, destroying it as Team Rocket was sent flying into the sky once again..._

_The students cared as the boys started to praise each other for their hard work, including with Anita._

_"Well it looks like now they've all become buddies." May said._

_"And that's all going to help them become better trainers." Ash added._

_"Yes, that's true." Roxanne replied._

_"You're Geodude is an awesome pokemon Roxanne." Brock said. "Being an expert on rock types let me say I'm impressed."_

_"Thank you Brock."_

_He smiles, looking over at Ash and Aria. "Better watch out Ash and Aria. Looks like you're in for a quite a battle tomorrow."_

_"Believe us, we know." Aria said grinning as they turned to Roxanne._

_"That's okay, the stronger opponent, the stronger we battle." Ash said._

_Roxanne chuckles at their expression. "Sounds like you're both are ready, maybe I should be the one watching out for you."_

* * *

A couple of days later, the group had already left the gym and the academy in Rustboro City after Ash and Aria finished their gym battle.

That was when they learned that May didn't want to be a Pokemon Trainer, but instead she wanted to be a Pokemon Coordinator.

Both Ash and Aria got their first badge in the Hoenn Region, but they decided to stay in Rustboro so that they could figure out what gym they could head to next.

"Where is the next gym?" Ash wondered.

"Let me check the Pokenav." Max said as he pulled it out of his pocket to check the map. "According to this, the next gym is located at Dewford Island."

"Alright, Dewford Island Gym, here I come."

Aria smiled at her brother before Nurse Joy handed back her pokemon to her after they were done being healed.

"They got everything in Rustboro." Brock said. "It's like one of those giant cities that's for everyone.

"Jewelry Stores, clothing stores, they've got everything!" May added as she and Brock were looking through some magazines.

"What are you guys talking about?" Ash asked. "We should be getting to the Dewford Island Gym now."

"I think we can spare a little time." Aria said as she sat down beside Max. "It's been a long time since we came to a place like this."

"And we've got two hours until we have to leave to go to Dewford Island before the boat leaves, so we have enough time to do something." Brock added.

"That sounds like a great idea." Aria heard Max's small outburst before looking at him to see he spilled soda onto the Pokenav. Aria looks at Ash and the others before she told Max to hide it quickly.

"Well, since were going to be staying longer, Max and I will go walk around town to see if we can go do something." Aria said, covering up for Max with his device behind his back as they stood up. "Is that alright with you May?" She asked.

"Sure, I guess." She answered, blinking in confusion.

"Cool! Let's go!" Max said nervously before running out of the Pokemon Center with Aria following behind him.

"What's up with them?" Ash asked confused.

"Who knows," May and Brock answered in unison.

* * *

**A kid from pallet town with a brand new world to see**

**I don't know what's ahead but it won't get the best of me**

**There's so much to learn and battles to be won**

**I've advanced so far and still there's always more to come**

**Take a step and I'm on my way gonna start all over again**

**I want to be hero (hero!)**

**Pokemon advance**

**I wanna be a hero (hero!)**

**Give it just one chance**

**And the future will decide**

**If there's a hero buried deep inside**

**I wanna be a hero!**

**Pokemon!**

* * *

"Thanks for the cover up Aria." Max thanked her as he stared down at the device, seeing how it wouldn't turn on.

"It's what friends do. I know what it's like getting in trouble by a sibling." She said, glancing over at him. "It's not turning on?"

Max shook his head, "It won't work." He said. "It's fried."

Aria frowned. "There has to be some place around here that can fix it. Let's look around for some sort of..." Both Aria and Max came to a stop when they noticed a group kids surrounding a man as he was showing them something. "...what's going on over there?"

They walked up to the kids as they saw some kind showing off some kind of invention.

"Is this guy some inventor?" Max asked the boy beside him.

"Yes, he comes and shows us new inventions to us sometimes." The boy said.

When they saw the invention before them, the man explains it to be a can opener, but it was some kind of wrestler trying to open a soda. But when it did it spilled everywhere as the kids laugh nervously and awkwardly.

Aria and Max sigh in unison as they noticed the kids leaving.

"But important thing is, how are we going to get this fix?" Max asked.

"I have no idea." Aria answered.

"Hey, you two."

They turn their attention back to the man that had created that same invention.

"What's wrong kid?" He asked.

"My name isn't kid, it's Max." Max corrected him.

"And I'm Aria." Aria replied. "His Pokenav is sort of fried and we have no idea how to get it fixed."

"Well, you could always head to the Devon Corporation." The man said.

"Devon Corporation?" Aria and Max said in unison.

"Haven't you heard of the Devon Corporation? We can fix everything because we make everything!"

Max's face lit up with a smile. "Really?"

"Did you know that Devon produces Pokemon there to?" The man asked.

"They do?" Aria inquired. "How is that possible?"

"Well, all I can say is-. Uh oh, gotta go. Just remember to head to the Devon Corporation, it's the biggest building in town."

Aria and Max looked confused until they noticed the man took off running.

"Wait! Hold on!" Max called to him.

Aria was about to run to catch the man until another man passed by her. Which had her confused.

_Was he a robber or something?_ She thought._ But it doesn't seem like he was doing anything wrong._

The man stops once they noticed the inventor had escaped. He pulls out a phone and started to call someone. "Hey, this is Kennedy. He's heading your way." He said.

Aria and Max blinked in confusion.

"Some weird is going on around here." He said.

"I agree with you Max." Aria replied. "But if he really says that the Devon Corporation can fix anything, then lets head there to check it out for ourselves."

* * *

When they arrived at the building, they head to the front desk and spoke with an older woman.

"What? How come you can't fix it?" Max asked.

"I'm sorry, here at Devon Corp. Headquarters we don't handle the repairs on products." The woman apologized.

Aria and Max frown. "Well, thanks anyway." Aria said before her and Max walked away. "I guess he wasn't tell the truth."

"But if this is such a big company why can't they just fix it?" Max asked.

"Because they have their jobs to do. It's not their problem to fix other people's problems unless they want to help."

"Hey, there you two are!"

Max and Aria turn around, seeing the man from before standing there.

"You again." Aria said. "Well what you said was a lie, they can't fix it."

"I wasn't lying," He said. "Follow me, I'll show you were they can fix it."

Aria blinked in confusion.

_There's something strange about this place..._ She thought. _I just wonder what's really going on around this place._


	11. EPISODE 17: PART 2

**An Impostor  
Episode 17: Part 2**

"Sir, where are we going?" Max asked as the man lead him and Aria down the hallway inside of the Devon Corporation.

But he completely ignored his question. "Can I see your Pokenav?" He asked.

"Uh, sure I guess." He hands it to him as the man examines it.

"Oh I see, you spilled your drink inside of here, haven't you?"

Max nods.

"So there is a way it can be fix right?" Aria asked.

The man nods as they walked into a room. There were scientist inside as they glanced at the trio. The man placed his finger to his lips to tell him to keep quiet. "I think that Kennedy guy is still following me around, don't say a word." He said.

A woman chuckled, holding a clipboard in her hands. "Not again." She said, shaking her head.

A man stood up from his stool. "Well, you always know this is a safe place to hide." He said.

"Could you take a look at this Pokenav? It shorted out and I need a quick repair job." He asked.

"No problem, I'll fix it Mister President." The man said, taking the Pokenav as he examined it.

Aria and Max looked confused. "President?" They said in unison.

"That's right, this man is the president of the Devon Corporation." The woman explained.

"But he tends to get himself in trouble with his assistant Kennedy from time to time." The man added.

"Why can't a president do what he wants?" Max asked.

"Well, that's just how things are around here." The president said. "But call me Mr. Stone."

When Mr. Stone finished explaining to them what they worked on at the Devon Corporation, he showed Aria and Max around, showing off a few of the devices they had created...or some that didn't work. But it still had them interested in their work.

"Is it all right if our friends can come here to see some of this?" Aria asked, glancing at Mr. Stone.

"Well, why not?" He said. "They came come."

Aria heard Max cheer as she smiled down at him. Max reminded her so much of Ash.

"Mister President!"

The trio comes to a stop once they noticed that man from before running over to them. It was Kennedy. "I've been looking all over for you. You should be back in your office, sir. You have several appointments." He said.

"It looks like I've been caught." Mr. Stone said.

"But he's the boss." Max said, catching Kennedy's attention.

"Kennedy I would like you to meet my friends Max and Aria."

The two bowed their head down as a respectful greeting. "Hello, sir." Max said.

"It's nice to meet you." Aria added.

"It's a pleasure to meet you two. I'm the president's assistant." Kennedy said.

"So that's why you were chasing Mr. Stone a while ago." Aria said. "You were just trying to get him back to work."

Kennedy nods in response.

"For a minute we thought you were some kind of robber." Max said, shaking his head.

"Kennedy, would you mind running to the Pokemon Center to find their friends and bring them back here for a little tour, huh?" Mr. Stone asked.

"Sir, of course I wouldn't." Kennedy said before leave the trio.

"Well, how about we continue our tour?" Mr. Stone suggested.

Max and Aria agreed before they went back into the lab and the he explained what certain machines run what. But when Aria and Max were distracted, Mr. Stone noticed something odd about one of the professors. He was wearing black sunglasses and he seemed to have something in his pockets. The mysterious professor left the lab as Aria and Max notice he was staring at the door.

"What's wrong?" Aria asked.

"It's nothing, but how about we take a walk." Mr. Stone said before they walked out of the lab.

But Aria noticed that wherever they were going was where the same exact place as the odd professor.

"Where are we going?" Max asked.

"Quiet Max," Mr. Stone said in a whisper. "We're following that guy." He said, eyeing the professor.

Aria looked at him. "How come?" She asked in a whisper.

"I know all of the faces of my employees, but I haven't seen him before."

Aria looked at the mysterious professor as her eyes narrow slightly. They continued to follow him as they almost reached the roof. Taking a staircase to the roof. But Max tripped which could be heard by the professor. He looks back, seeing that he was being followed as he ran up the stairs.

"Hey! Stop!" Aria demanded, reaching for two of her poke balls. "Houndoom, Absol, chase after him!" She said as her pokemon appeared, chasing the man up the stairs.

Aria turned to Max and helped him up. "Sorry." He apologized.

"It's alright, Max. You actually helped out." Mr. Stone said. Max looked confused as he continued. "His running away shows that he doesn't belong here."

"Let's hurry then!" Aria said as they ran up the stairs.

Mr. Stone then took out his phone and started to call Kennedy.

"It's me. Max, Aria, and I are chasing a suspicious wearing one of our white lab coats. He's now heading up to the roof." He said.

Kennedy spoke to him, but Aria or Max couldn't hear what he was saying.

"We'll meet you on the roof then." He said before he put the phone away.

The trio quickly caught up to Aria's pokemon as the run up another set of stairs. When they reached the roof, they see that the impostor couldn't go anywhere. Aria faces lit up with a smile as she realized it was Ash, May, Brock, and Kennedy who stopped them.

"Are you guys alright?" May and Ash asked at the same time.

"Yeah!" Aria replied as her pokemon stood in front of her. "Give us back what you stole from their lab!"

The impostor huffed, taking out a poke ball as a large pokemon appeared in front of Aria's pokemon.

"What's that pokemon?"

**"Crawdaunt, the Rogue Pokémon. Crawdaunt are short-tempered, and quick to challenge opponents to battle. It is said that no other Pokémon can live in areas inhabited by Crawdaunt."**

Aria's eyes narrow as she put away her pokedex.

"Crawdaunt, use Crabhammer!" The impostor commanded.

Crawdaunt nods, as it charge towards Aria's pokemon.

"Evade it!" She said to them as they quickly dodged it. "Absol use Night Slash!"

Her pokemon nods as it quickly lunged at Crawdaunt. But the pokemon only attacked back. Aria gasped when she realized Absol's attack failed.

"Absol!" She exclaimed.

"Pikachu, let's help her out!" Ash said as the electric mouse jumped off his shoulder. "Quick attack!" He said.

Pikachu runs in quickly, tackling into the pokemon as he knocked it down. The impostor told his pokemon to use Crabhammer once again. Pikachu's attack didn't even have an affect on Crawdaunt just like Absol. Aria gasped in shock when she saw Houndoom get wiped out by Crawdaunt's attack.

"Houndoom, return!" She said as she returned it to the poke ball. Aria grits her teeth together, "Absol use- huh?" She turns her attention to the footsteps she heard running up the stairs they took to catch the impostor. Everyone else noticed them as well.

"Team Rocket!" Ash cried, a glare went straight to them.

Before they could start their motto, they tense up when they heard Officer Jenny shout to them. But Aria turned her attention back to the impostor as she noticed that he had returned his pokemon to the poke ball as he rushed to a box with a rocket propelled glider inside of it. He turns it on and started to glide away.

"Oh no you don't! Ivysaur, use Vine Whip to take back what he stole!" Aria said as she called out her partner. Ivysaur's attack when straight for the impostor as he quickly went into his pockets and got back whatever he stole. The impostor managed to get away, but at least she got back what he stole. "Good work! We've got them back!" She praised her partner as Ivysaur handed her two small capsules with strange orange substance inside.

The impostor scowled under his breath as he didn't bother to go back for them. They watched him disappear as Aria handed Mr. Stone the stolen parts.

"Thanks Aria, we appreciate you and your friends for helping out." He said.

"Save your thanks, we still have Team Rocket to—" That was when she noticed something fly through the sky as Aria laughed awkwardly, realizing it was Team Rocket who got hit by Pikachu's Thunderbolt. "Hehe. Never mind then."

"But who was that guy?" Ash asked.

"I have an idea." Officer Jenny said. "Since he was using a Crawdaunt, my guess is that he is a member of Team Aqua."

"Team Aqua?" Max questioned.

"Yes. Here in the Hoenn region there are two organizations that cause trouble. There's Team Aqua, and there's Team Magma." She said. "We'll set up a police line around the city, so he won't be getting away."

"Team Aqua and Team Magma..." Aria murmurs under her breath.

* * *

Later that day, the others went to spend the rest of the their day at a restaurant and Mr. Stones gladly offered to pay for the whole thing. Mr. Stone, Max, and Aria sat on one side of the table, while Ash, May, and Brock sat on the other side.

"Thank you for all of your help." Mr. Stone said. "You've saved us from losing an important part of our research project."

"Thanks, but your real heroes are Max and Aria." Ash said.

Aria and Max laugh awkwardly as Aria drank some of the juice she had with her.

"Adventures are about being young. You know, my son Steven is traveling around the world, you like you all. Right now he's on Dewford Island."

"Huh, Dewford Island?" Brock questioned.

"I'm sure you'll all have a good time on Dewford Island. But, if there's a problem, ask for Steven." Mr. Stone said.

"Thanks Mr. Stone." Ash thanked with a quick nod.

"Also, I have a special request." He added.

"Special request?" May asked.

"Right, you see..." Mr. Stone glanced at Aria who had just set down her glass of juice. "I was wondering if you could challenge my son to a battle when you see him." He said. "I've noticed how similar you two fight, so I was thinking maybe the two of you could have one."

Aria thought to herself for a moment.

_If what he says is really true, then I can't turn away a favor like that..._

"I'l do it." She said wit ha sharp nod.

"That's the spirit, sis." Ash encouraged.

"Thanks Ash. But if he's powerful then I'll have to train before we go to meet him." She said smiling.

"Hey Max, can I see the Pokenav?" May asked.

Max and Aria tense up when May asked for the device.

"Uh-I..." Before Max could say that it was broken, he felt something tap against his knee as he looked down. It was the Pokenav. He glanced at Mr. Stone who didn't bother to look at him and Max took the Pokenav as he turned it on. Aria and Max smile brightly as they saw it was working like it normally did.

"Here you go! It's not broken at all or anything!" Max blurted out, handing the Pokenav to his sister.

"Broken?" She inquired, but she shrugged it off as she took it. "Thank you!"

As the three got distracted by the Pokenav, Aria and Max turn to Mr. Stone.

"Thank you for helping us." Aria said.

"It was my pleasure. Just make sure you don't make a mistake like that again." He said.

"Okay! I promise!" Max said with a sharp nod.


	12. EPISODE 18: PART 1

**Mr. Briney And His Wingull, Peeko  
Episode 18: Part 1**

**Recap on the last episode...**

_"What are you guys talking about?" Ash asked. "We should be getting to the Dewford Island Gym now."_

_"I think we can spare a little time." Aria said as she sat down beside Max. "It's been a long time since we came to a place like this."_

_"And we've got two hours until we have to leave to go to Dewford Island before the boat leaves, so we have enough time to do something." Brock added._

_"That sounds like a great idea." Aria heard Max's small outburst before looking at him to see he spilled soda onto the Pokenav. Aria looks at Ash and the others before she told Max to hide it quickly._

_"Well, since were going to be staying longer, Max and I will go walk around town to see if we can go do something." Aria said, covering up for Max with his device behind his back as they stood up. "Is that alright with you May?" She asked._

_"Sure, I guess." She answered, blinking in confusion._

_"Cool! Let's go!" Max said nervously before running out of the Pokemon Center with Aria following behind him._

_"What's up with them?" Ash asked confused._

_"Who knows," May and Brock answered in unison._

_..._

_"It's what friends do. I know what it's like getting in trouble by a sibling." She said, glancing over at him. "It's not turning on?"_

_Max shook his head, "It won't work." He said. "It's fried."_

_Aria frowned. "There has to be some place around here that can fix it. Let's look around for some sort of..." Both Aria and Max came to a stop when they noticed a group kids surrounding a man as he was showing them something. "...what's going on over there?"_

_They walked up to the kids as they saw some kind showing off some kind of invention._

_"Is this guy some inventor?" Max asked the boy beside him._

_"Yes, he comes and shows us new inventions to us sometimes." The boy said._

_When they saw the invention before them, the man explains it to be a can opener, but it was some kind of wrestler trying to open a soda. But when it did it spilled everywhere as the kids laugh nervously and awkwardly._

_Aria and Max sigh in unison as they noticed the kids leaving._

_"But important thing is, how are we going to get this fix?" Max asked._

_"I have no idea." Aria answered._

_..._

_"Well, you could always head to the Devon Corporation." The man said._

_"Devon Corporation?" Aria and Max said in unison._

_"Haven't you heard of the Devon Corporation? We can fix everything because we make everything!"_

_Max's face lit up with a smile. "Really?"_

_"Did you know that Devon produces Pokemon there to?" The man asked._

_"They do?" Aria inquired. "How is that possible?"_

_"Well, all I can say is-. Uh oh, gotta go. Just remember to head to the Devon Corporation, it's the biggest building in town."_

_Aria and Max looked confused until they noticed the man took off running._

_"Wait! Hold on!" Max called to him._

_Aria was about to run to catch the man until another man passed by her. Which had her confused._

_Was he a robber or something? She thought. But it doesn't seem like he was doing anything wrong._

_The man stops once they noticed the inventor had escaped. He pulls out a phone and started to call someone. "Hey, this is Kennedy. He's heading your way." He said._

_Aria and Max blinked in confusion._

_"Some weird is going on around here." He said._

_"I agree with you Max." Aria replied. "But if he really says that the Devon Corporation can fix anything, then lets head there to check it out for ourselves."_

_..._

_"Could you take a look at this Pokenav? It shorted out and I need a quick repair job." He asked._

_"No problem, I'll fix it Mister President." The man said, taking the Pokenav as he examined it._

_Aria and Max looked confused. "President?" They said in unison._

_"That's right, this man is the president of the Devon Corporation." The woman explained._

_"But he tends to get himself in trouble with his assistant Kennedy from time to time." The man added._

_"Why can't a president do what he wants?" Max asked._

_"Well, that's just how things are around here." The president said. "But call me Mr. Stones."_

_..._

_"Mister President!"_

_The trio comes to a stop once they noticed that man from before running over to them. It was Kennedy. "I've been looking all over for you. You should be back in your office, sir. You have several appointments." He said._

_"It looks like I've been caught." Mr. Stones said._

_"But he's the boss." Max said, catching Kennedy's attention._

_"Kennedy I would like you to meet my friends Max and Aria."_

_The two bowed their head down as a respectful greeting. "Hello, sir." Max said._

_"It's nice to meet you." Aria added._

_"It's a pleasure to meet you two. I'm the president's assistant." Kennedy said._

_"So that's why you were chasing Mr. Stones a while ago." Aria said. "You were just trying to get him back to work."_

_Kennedy nods in response._

_"For a minute we thought you were some kind of robber." Max said, shaking his head._

_"Kennedy, would you mind running to the Pokemon Center to find their friends and bring them back here for a little tour, huh?" Mr. Stones asked._

_"Sir, of course I wouldn't." Kennedy said before leave the trio._

_..._

_"Hey! Stop!" Aria demanded, reaching for two of her poke balls. "Houndoom, Absol, chase after him!" She said as her pokemon appeared, chasing the man up the stairs._

_Aria turned to Max and helped him up. "Sorry." He apologized._

_"It's alright, Max. You actually helped out." Mr. Stones said. Max looked confused as he continued. "His running away shows that he doesn't belong here."_

_"Let's hurry then!" Aria said as they ran up the stairs._

_Mr. Stones then took out his phone and started to call Kennedy._

_"It's me. Max, Aria, and I are chasing a suspicious wearing one of our white lab coats. He's now heading up to the roof." He said._

_Kennedy spoke to him, but Aria or Max couldn't hear what he was saying._

_"We'll meet you on the roof then." He said before he put the phone away._

_..._

_"Oh no you don't! Ivysaur, use Vine Whip to take back what he stole!" Aria said as she called out her partner. Ivysaur's attack when straight for the impostor as he quickly went into his pockets and got back whatever he stole. The impostor managed to get away, but at least she got back what he stole. "Good work! We've got them back!" She praised her partner as Ivysaur handed her two small capsules with strange orange substance inside._

_The impostor scowled under his breath as he didn't bother to go back for them. They watched him disappear as Aria handed Mr. Stones the stolen parts._

_"Thanks Aria, we appreciate you and your friends for helping out." He said._

_"Save your thanks, we still have Team Rocket to—." That was when she noticed something fly through the sky as Aria laughed awkwardly, realizing it was Team Rocket who got hit by Pikachu's Thunderbolt. "Hehe. Never mind then."_

_..._

_"But who was that guy?" Ash asked._

_"I have an idea." Officer Jenny said. "Since he was using a Crawdaunt, my guess is that he is a member of Team Aqua."_

_"Team Aqua?" Max questioned._

_"Yes. Here in the Hoenn region there are two organizations that cause trouble. There's Team Aqua, and there's Team Magma." She said. "We'll set up a police line around the city, so he won't be getting away."_

_"Team Aqua and Team Magma..." Aria murmurs under her breath._

_..._

_"Also, I have a special request." He added._

_"Special request?" May asked._

_"Right, you see..." Mr. Stones glanced at Aria who had just set down her glass of juice. "I was wondering if you could challenge my son to a battle when you see him." He said. "I've noticed how similar you two fight, so I was thinking maybe the two of you could have one."_

_Aria thought to herself for a moment._

_If what he says is really true, then I can't turn away a favor like that..._

_"I'l do it." She said wit ha sharp nod._

_"That's the spirit, sis." Ash encouraged._

_"Thanks Ash. But if he's powerful then I'll have to train before we go to meet him." She said smiling._

_"Hey Max, can I see the Pokenav?" May asked._

_Max and Aria tense up when May asked for the device._

_"Uh-I..." Before Max could say that it was broken, he felt something tap against his knee as he looked down. It was the Pokenav. He glanced at Mr. Stones who didn't bother to look at him and Max took the Pokenav as he turned it on. Aria and Max smile brightly as they saw it was working like it normally did._

_"Here you go! It's not broken at all or anything!" Max blurted out, handing the Pokenav to his sister._

_"Broken?" She inquired, but she shrugged it off as she took it. "Thank you!"_

_As the three got distracted by the Pokenav, Aria and Max turn to Mr. Stones._

_"Thank you for helping us." Aria said._

_"It was my pleasure. Just make sure you don't make a mistake like that again." He said._

_"Okay! I promise!" Max said with a sharp nod._

* * *

"Um, I don't think this is even the right place May." Aria said, a slight anime drop going down her forehead. "This place looks old and abandoned."

Since they missed the first boat to Dewford Island, they had to wait until the next day to go so they decided to walk around Rustboro City before they left.

May held the paper tightly in her hands, realizing what the date said on it.

"The date is..." She said. "It's this month...and this day... from 10 years ago!" She exclaimed, anger in her voice from not reading it correctly.

Everyone dropped to the ground except for May, feeling slightly embarrassed for her.

* * *

**A kid from pallet town with a brand new world to see**

**I don't know what's ahead but it won't get the best of me**

**There's so much to learn and battles to be won**

**I've advanced so far and still there's always more to come**

**Take a step and I'm on my way gonna start all over again**

**I want to be hero (hero!)**

**Pokemon advance**

**I wanna be a hero (hero!)**

**Give it just one chance**

**And the future will decide**

**If there's a hero buried deep inside**

**I wanna be a hero!**

**Pokemon!**

* * *

Ash and Aria were back to back on the floor, sighing after spending most of their time trying to look for the port.

"There has to be a port around here somewhere." Aria said tiredly.

"How are we suppose to find a boat if we can't find the port?" Brock sighed.

"This is so weird," May pointed out, staring at the paper in her hands.

"Hey guys!" Max called to them, running in their direction. "It's the port! Over there!"

They nodded, following Max as they reached a harbor, seeing the port on the other side of the city.

"Oh, great." May sighed.

"I guess there's been a lot of change here in the last 10 years." Brock said.

"Just great..." Ash sighed, his shoulders sulking.

"Hey, at least we found somewhere we could relax. Besides there should be another boat soon." Aria pointed out.

"Now what do we do?" Ash asked.

"We must have missed the morning boat by this time." Max pointed out.

"Aria and Max are right, so there's no point in getting worked up." Brock said. "We can just have a soda, sit back, and relax."

"Good thinking." Max said. "We've got tons of time before the afternoon boat."

Ash sighed again. "I just wanted to start my battle once we get to Dewford Island right away." He said quietly.

Aria and May frown at the same time as they glanced at each other. "Hey, maybe there's probably another boat around here." Aria said. "If there is we can leave right away."

May looked confused at first before nodding in agreement. "Hey you guys enjoy your drink and we're going to go find us a boat." May said to the boys.

They all gasped in surprise, glancing at the girls.

"But, how are you going to find us a boat when there aren't any?" Max asked.

"Well this use to be a port didn't it?" Aria pointed out. "There's got to be a boat around here somewhere."

* * *

"Then again, maybe not." Aria sighed as her and May have been looking through the port for several minutes.

May glanced at the buildings, seeing the broken windows, the boarded up doors and boats that have been wrecked into many pieces.

"Not only no boats, there aren't any people here." May added. They come to a stop noticing some sort of fishing rod in the distance. There was a man who was fishing, he appeared to be alone. "There's actually someone here! Let's go ask him!" May said as she pulled Aria's hand to get moving.

They approached the man as he continued to look down at the water.

"Excuse me sir." May said. "I'd like to ask you a question if you don't mind."

"I know, I know." He spoke. "You would like to know why the fish suddenly stopped biting today, right?"

"What?" Aria said confused. "What do you mean?"

"So today is not your day. There's always tomorrow." He stood up, looking outward towards the sea. "The point is you don't get in, you don't rise to the challenge!"

"I do, but that's not really what I wanted to ask you sir." May said, getting a sweat drop down her face.

The man glanced at them as they stood there slightly confused. "Hey, who the heck are ya anyway? You don't look familiar" He asked.

"Wingull!"

They glanced at the sky as they saw a Wingull fly in their direction, landing in front of the may.

"Ahoy Peeko!" The man greeted. "Did you enjoy your strolling through the clouds?"

"Wing, Wingull!" Peeko replied happily.

"What's that Pokemon?" May said confused as she pulled out her pokedex.

**"Wingull, the Seagull Pokémon. Wingull will fly through the sky as though surfing waves. It normally carries food and other valuable items, then hides them here and there."**

"Cool, so it's a Wingull." She said. "It's kinda cute."

"Not kinda, Peeko is the cutest." The man corrected. "This cute pokemon you're looking at is my favorite shining star."

"Wing, Wingull!" Peeko replied.

"Peeko, what a cute name," May said as she extended her hand to the pokemon. "It's nice to meet you."

Peeko was a little shy and hid right behind the man's leg.

"Don't worry, Peeko is just a little bit shy around strangers. The only one Peeko feelings comfortable around is me." He said.

"That's too bad." May said sadly.

An idea came to Aria's mind as she reached into her bag and pulled out a container. She opens it, revealing pokemon food inside of it.

"Here Peeko, try some of this." Aria said as she got down to Peeko's level, holding out a hand full of pokemon food. "It's Brock's special pokemon food, give it a try if you want to. And if you want, we can become buddies too."

Peeko stared at them for a moment before approaching them, eating the pokemon food out of Aria's hand.

"Awesome! Thanks Peeko!" May said as she rubbed Peeko on the head.

"My stars, I'm certainly impressed young ladies, wow." The man said.

Aria laughed slightly. "Thank you, but it's nothing." She said.

"Wow, you're one lucky little Wingull aren't ya?" He said to Peeko.

"Wingull!" Peeko spoke happily.

"The name's Briney." The man said. "They call me that from my salty position, so I hear. Nice to meet you."

The girls smiled as Aria put away the container of pokemon food. "It's nice to meet you too, my name is May."

"And I'm Aria."


	13. EPISODE 18: PART 2

**To Protect Those Ones Close  
Episode 18: Part 2**

"Really? You'll give us a ride there?" Aria asked in disbelief.

"Of course! Who would turn down a few young people like you?" Mr. Briney said with a slight chuckle.

"Thank you Mr. Briney." May and Aria said at the same time.

"We have to get the others and tell them the good news." Aria said as they stood up. "We'll be back in a couple of minutes!"

The began to leave as Peeko waved its wing to them. "What a couple of nice lassies." Mr. Briney said.

In the distance, a man could be seen as a smirk spreads on his lips.

* * *

"Wow, you're not kidding around?" Ash asked. "You really found us a ride?"

"They even say with the newest fairies it takes a half of a day to get there." Brock pointed out.

"And it's an old retired guy, I bet his boat is old too..." Max commented.

"Oh stop worrying guys." May said with a big smile. "Remember what we said about Mr. Briney. He traveled the seven sails in his quaking ship, and stayed awake the whole time."

"Seven sails!?" Ash exclaimed in surprise.

"Awake?"

"And wait until you meet sweet little Peeko." May said as she stared down at the jar of pokemon food in her hands.

"Don't worry guys, believe us." Aria said.

When they got to his house, Aria knocked on the door. The door bursts opens, startled everyone in surprise.

"Mr. Briney? We brought our friends and we're ready to-"

"FORGET IT!" He shouted at the top of his lungs, cutting Aria off as he was scaring everyone once more. "I made no such deal with you!"

"But...you did just a few minutes ago." May said getting a bit scared.

"I don't know you and I don't know any deal and that's all I have to say so good day!" He slams the door shut.

"But, please Mr. Briney." May frowns, not recalling him being like this.

"What's with that guy?" Max questioned.

"That sure doesn't sound like the same guy you were telling us about." Ash pointed out.

"But... He promised..." Aria stared at the door for a moment. "It just doesn't make any sense. Why would he say something like that?"

_It doesn't make any sense..._

Aria frowns.

_He wasn't like that when we first met him, how come he's acting like this? We were only gone for a few minutes... There is something is definitely going on around here, just what though...?_

* * *

Mr. Briney closed the curtain as he watched the trainers leave.

"A note worthy performance." A voice said.

Mr. Briney turns around, growling. "Because there's no reason for putting those in any danger." He spat.

"Danger? Whatever do you mean?" The voice mocked.

"Come on, you're from Team Aqua!" Mr. Briney pointed out.

The voice laughs. "Well well well, guilt as charged." He said.

"I've heard plenty of stories from my sailing comrades, about a gang of troublemakers called Team Aqua!"

"All of this name calling is starting to hurt my feelings." The grunt said as if he was hurt from his insult. "You see, we're much more than just troublemakers. Now how about that boat of yours?"

"Forget about it!" Mr. Briney refused.

"Really? Then I guess you don't care about what happens to your little friend here." The grunt looks down at the pokemon trapped in a small cage.

"Wing...wingull..." Peeko cried in fright as he was shaking in fear.

"Why you-!"

"Crawdaunt go!"

The pokemon stood in front of the cage as Peeko's fears grew by the second.

Mr. Briney's emotions changed from anger, to worry.

"Peeko! Alright! Please, stop it!" He begged.

"I'll stop when you bring out your boat old man."

Mr. Briney grips his teeth together, glaring daggers at the Team Aqua grunt as he had no choice but to listen to his orders. He didn't want to turn away Aria, May, and the others. But, with the current situation he is in now, he had no choice but to do so, just to protect them. Even if that means hurting their feelings in the end, he just wanted to protect them, and Peeko.

* * *

**Ooh, conflict! Sorry if this chapter is a little short, I wanted to get this published right away before I work on my other stories. So as most of you guys know, I will be writing out the movies for this series. And our first one is coming up soon! I won't say what it is unless you all know (Which probably do) and I'm working on it at the moment. I realized how long it is going to work on it, so that's why I decided to start on it now while we're doing these last few chapters. **

**Before we get any further on that, you must be wondering why I am working on it now, well I have already decided what pokemon Aria should catch next, and it won't be for another few episodes, but it shouldn't take too long to get to. When I work on the movie, it will be a full chapter, no cliffhangers for it, I'm just going to make it one chapter and I know for most of you this might take a few days to read, but... it's a movie after all. I might as well start working on Adventure in Unova now, I'm actually starting to enjoy writing that one, just because that's my favorite region through out pokemon. But I'll surely go back to working on Adventure in Kanto soon. I'm actually about to publish that chapter soon, so keep your eyes out for it!**

**Phew! That took a while! Anyways, I'll catch you guys in the next chapter! Keep your eyes open for the other chapters in Adventure in Kanto and Adventure in Unova! Bye-bye!**


	14. EPISODE 18: PART 3

**Rescuing Peeko  
Episode 18: Part 3**

"I just...don't get it." Aria frowns.

"Maybe we should just head to the new port." Ash suggested.

"If we go now we might make it to the afternoon fairy." Brock said, agreeing with him.

A siren was caught in their ears as someone parked their motorcycle.

"Careful kids, this is a dangerous area." Officer Jenny said. "Wait, you're the children from yesterday."

"Wait, why did you say that it's dangerous here?" Ash asked. "Cause of the man from yesterday?"

"That's correct. The member of Team Aqua who broke into the Devon Corporation has escaped into this general area. Based on current information I contain, several of his colleagues are working to join up with them as we speak."

"You mean the whole rest of that gang, Team Aqua coming here?" May asked.

"From where and how soon?" Max asked.

Officer Jenny frowns, "That I don't know."

"Jenny, please! I know this my not be much, but I will do anything I can to help you with your man hunt." Brock proclaimed.

Jenny laughs at his response. "Haha, but you shouldn't do anything dangerous. I set up checkpoints all around Rustboro City. So he won't be escaping easily."

"Right!" The group exclaims.

"PIKA!" Pikachu says, raising his paw in the air.

Jenny then drives away, leaving a trail of dust behind her motorcycle.

"Bye Jenny! Good luck!" Brock said blushing.

"That Officer Jenny sure has a tough job." May pointed out.

"Yeah, it seems she's always going around looking for bad guys." Ash said.

"But, don't you think Team Aqua knows about those checkpoints that she set up?" Aria thought aloud.

Everyone glanced at her as she lightly shrugs.

"I mean, if there are a few people working for Team Aqua, they must have informed the one that we were fighting yesterday. If that's true, their going to want to meet up somewhere, but just where?"

"If they were hiding here, then they would be trying to stay out of sight of people." May pointed out.

"WRONG!" Brock shouted.

His outburst startled everyone as he continued to speak, "Now if Team Aqua is coming back for that guy, they'll need some sort of transportation, do you hear me?"

"Yeah, but having a vehicle is going to make them stick out like a sore thumb." Max pointed out as the two began to think. Then they all turn their attention to the sea.

"They'll need a boat!" They exclaimed.

"And the only boat that's around her is Mr. Briney's! Right?" Max asked.

Aria gasped. "That's right!" She said.

"This is not good!" Brock pointed out.

"So that's why, they want to use Mr. Briney's boat to meet up with Team Aqua!" Ash said.

"That means, Mr. Briney was just trying to protect us when trying not to know Aria and I." May said with widen eyes.

"We've got to hurry and fast!" Aria said as they rushed back to his house.

Ash began to pound on the door with his fist.

"Mr. Briney!" He called.

"I hope we're not to late." May said worriedly.

"Hey look, there's the dock!" Max pointed out.

"Stay away kids!" A voice shouted. "Team Aqua is here!"

A pokemon then turns the corner as the others come to a stop. It was a Crawdaunt, and it seemed to be carrying a cage with a pokemon inside.

"Peeko!" Aria exclaimed. "Its got him!"

"That's the Crawdaunt from yesterday!" Max pointed out.

Aria reached for a poke ball, but stops when she heard a laugh. She glanced up to find the Team Aqua grunt right before them.

"Not you again." He said. "You're really becoming an annoyance to me."

Everyone gasped in surprise. "It is you!" Brock exclaimed.

"Crawdaunt go!" The grunt commanded.

Aria now takes out a poke ball as Ash told Pikachu to fight as well. Aria calls out Electrike and the two pokemon charge towards Crawdaunt. But some sort of bags landed in front of them, causing dust to fly everywhere once it breaks. The group could remember the motto instantly as the smoke began to clear and revealed a familiar balloon.

"Team Rocket! What are you doing here?" Aria demanded.

"Always the same question, we're here for Pikachu, but we're taking Wingull too." Jessie said.

Then their eyes gaze at the Team Aqua grunt.

"Oh, so it's you again."

"Alright, so yesterday was a bust." James said.

"But, this time we're going to grab every pokemon possible." Meowth added.

"Really? Well I have my doubts." The Team Aqua grunt said.

"Oh yeah, we'll doubt this!" Meowth holds up remote as he pressed the buttom.

A vacuum comes out from the bottom of the balloon and started to suck in the pokemon. Pikachu and Electrike were both struggling to stay away from it, until they were pulled in. Aria and Ash tried to save them, but they were already sucked right in. Cradaunt managed to get its claw stuck in the ground to stay in place, but the handle broke on Peeko's cage and got him too.

"Lotad go!" Brock calls out his pokemon. "Use Water Gun!"

Team Rocket tenses, but laughed when Lotad only made a fountain of water. But then the real power came as it hit Team Rocket's balloon. It also hit the remote Meowth had in his hand and made it malfunction, cause the doors to open and drop, Pikachu, Electrike, and Peeko.

Both Pikachu and Electrike landed in the water and Peeko landed on the deck, but it didn't break the cage that it was trapped in.

"Peeko! I'm coming!" Mr. Briney rushed towards the terrified pokemon, but Crawdaunt beat him to it.

Ash and Aria quickly pull Pikachu and Electrike out of the water as they turn their attention back to Team Aqua.

"Crawdaunt, use Bubble Beam to blow the balloon away!" He demanded as Crawdaunt launched the attack right at Team Rocket, causing them to get blasted away.

The Team Aqua grunt grins in response as he began to head for Mr. Briney's boat. Mr. Briney tried to stop him, but he already got away with it. They took Peeko with them too!

"We have to save Peeko!" Aria exclaimed.

"But how are we going to do that with no boat?" Max asked.

"We've got to figure out a way!" Ash said.

"Alright, looks like I'm left with no other choice." They heard Mr. Briney say as they watched him enter his garage, but glancing at the others from over his shoulder. "Okay kids, come with me."

They obeyed, following him inside as he flipped a lever. The lights flickered on and the water began to turn into a whirlpool. Then it splits in have and separated as it revealed a hidden boat. It rises out as the water returned to normal. Everyone was in awe, amazed at what just happened. Aria gasped quietly as she realized the boat looked exactly like Peeko!

"Say hello to my high speed boat! The SSSWingull!" Mr. Briney announced.

"Okay, that's a ship!" Brock pointed out.

"It's a Wingull!" Ash added.

"We'll show Team Aqua a thing or two!" Mr. Briney said as the climbed onto the ship and started forth. "After retiring from the sea captain's life, my days became boring. One after another. And the trail of the seven seas drifted into the dark past and into a sad and lonely life. And then one day, my dear Peeko suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Watching that Wingull as it lived freely, flying through the skies. I felt the unmistakable power of my youth welling up inside of me again. Then, I knew that the time would come when I would travel the oceans once more, this time with my Peeko. That's why I built this boat."

In the next minutes, they finally caught up to the Team Aqua grunt and saw that he was heading for Triangle Rock.

"We need to slow him down!" Aria said as her and Electrike began to leave.

"Aria wait!" May tried to reason, but Aria was already on the roof of the ship.

"Electrike, use Spark!" Aria told her pokemon.

"Water Pulse!"

Before Electrike could even attack, a big wave a water passed over them as both Aria and Electrike grip tightly onto the boat. Once it cleared, they realized how far the Team Aqua Grunt has gotten.

"He's almost at Triangle Rock!" Aria exclaimed as she realized Ash and Pikachu was up there with her.

"We'll have to destroy the rock!" He said. Aria nodded.

"Right!"

"Pikachu, use Thunder!"

"And Electrike, use Spark once more!"

They launched their attacks right at the rock, but it only destroyed most of it, leaving on a base left of it sticking out of the water.

"There's still a lot left!" May exclaimed.

"Alright kids, hold on!" Mr. Briney told them as he increased the speed on the ship.

He took a quick turn before he was right next to the rock and the ship inches away from hitting them. Mr. Briney tips the ship slightly, and the boat went flying over both Ash and Aria as they watched it fly over the rock as well. It crashed right into the water as Aria's eyes widen.

"Peeko!"

She quickly dived into the water before Ash could stop her. She quickly swims towards Peeko, lifting the cage out of the water to save the pokemon.

"Peeko, are you okay?" She asked.

"Wing- Wingull!" It responded happily. Aria smiled.

"That's great to hear." Then she gasped once she noticed something emerge from the water, a large blue submarine. Aria watched as the same grunt from before go right inside of the submarine as Aria sighed. "Team Aqua... just who are those guys really?" She mumbled to herself.


	15. EPISODE 19: PART 1

**Attacked by Sharpedo  
Episode 19: Part 1**

**Recap on the last episode...**

_"Hey guys!" Max called to them, running in their direction. "It's the port! Over there!"_

_They nodded, following Max as they reached a harbor, seeing the port on the other side of the city._

_"Oh, great." May sighed._

_"I guess there's been a lot of change here in the last 10 years." Brock said._

_"Just great..." Ash sighed, his shoulders sulking._

_"Hey, at least we found somewhere we could relax. Besides there should be another boat soon." Aria pointed out._

_"Now what do we do?" Ash asked._

_"We must have missed the morning boat by this time." Max pointed out._

_"Aria and Max are right, so there's no point in getting worked up." Brock said. "We can just have a soda, sit back, and relax."_

_"Good thinking." Max said. "We've got tons of time before the afternoon boat."_

_Ash sighed again. "I just wanted to start my battle once we get to Dewford Island right away." He said quietly._

_Aria and May frown at the same time as they glanced at each other. "Hey, maybe there's probably another boat around here." Aria said. "If there is we can leave right away."_

_May looked confused at first before nodding in agreement. "Hey you guys enjoy your drink and we're going to go find us a boat." May said to the boys._

_They all gasped in surprise, glancing at the girls._

_"But, how are you going to find us a boat when there aren't any?" Max asked._

_"Well this use to be a port didn't it?" Aria pointed out. "There's got to be a boat around here somewhere."_

_..._

_"Cool, so it's a Wingull." She said. "It's kinda cute."_

_"Not kinda, Peeko is the cutest." The man corrected. "This cute pokemon you're looking at is my favorite shining star."_

_"Wing, Wingull!" Peeko replied._

_"Peeko, what a cute name," May said as she extended her hand to the pokemon. "It's nice to meet you."_

_Peeko was a little shy and hid right behind the man's leg._

_"Don't worry, Peeko is just a little bit shy around strangers. The only one Peeko feelings comfortable around is me." He said._

_"That's too bad." May said sadly._

_An idea came to Aria's mind as she reached into her bag and pulled out a container. She opens it, revealing pokemon food inside of it._

_"Here Peeko, try some of this." Aria said as she got down to Peeko's level, holding out a hand full of pokemon food. "It's Brock's special pokemon food, give it a try if you want to. And if you want, we can become buddies too."_

_Peeko stared at them for a moment before approaching them, eating the pokemon food out of Aria's hand._

_"Awesome! Thanks Peeko!" May said as she rubbed Peeko on the head._

_"My stars, I'm certainly impressed young ladies, wow." The man said._

_Aria laughed slightly. "Thank you, but it's nothing." She said._

_"Wow, you're one lucky little Wingull aren't ya?" He said to Peeko._

_"Wingull!" Peeko spoke happily._

_"The name's Briney." The man said. "They call me that from my salty position, so I hear. Nice to meet you."_

_..._

_"Really? You'll give us a ride there?" Aria asked in disbelief._

_"Of course! Who would turn down a few young people like you?" Mr. Briney said with a slight chuckle._

_"Thank you Mr. Briney." May and Aria said at the same time._

_"We have to get the others and tell them the good news." Aria said as they stood up. "We'll be back in a couple of minutes!"_

_The began to leave as Peeko waved its wing to them. "What a couple of nice lassies." Mr. Briney said._

_In the distance, a man could be seen as a smirk spreads on his lips._

_..._

_"Wow, you're not kidding around?" Ash asked. "You really found us a ride?"_

_"They even say with the newest fairies it takes a half of a day to get there." Brock pointed out._

_"And it's an old retired guy, I bet his boat is old too..." Max commented._

_"Oh stop worrying guys." May said with a big smile. "Remember what we said about Mr. Briney. He traveled the seven sails in his quaking ship, and stayed awake the whole time."_

_"Seven sails!?" Ash exclaimed in surprise._

_"Awake?"_

_"And wait until you meet sweet little Peeko." May said as she stared down at the jar of pokemon food in her hands._

_"Don't worry guys, believe us." Aria said._

_..._

_"FORGET IT!" He shouted at the top of his lungs, cutting Aria off as he was scaring everyone once more. "I made no such deal with you!"_

_"But...you did just a few minutes ago." May said getting a bit scared._

_"I don't know you and I don't know any deal and that's all I have to say so good day!" He slams the door shut._

_"But, please Mr. Briney." May frowns, not recalling him being like this._

_"What's with that guy?" Max questioned._

_"That sure doesn't sound like the same guy you were telling us about." Ash pointed out._

_"But... He promised..." Aria stared at the door for a moment. "It just doesn't make any sense. Why would he say something like that?"_

_It doesn't make any sense..._

_Aria frowns._

_He wasn't like that when we first met him, how come he's acting like this? We were only gone for a few minutes... There is something is definitely going on around here, just what though...?_

_..._

_"Yeah, but having a vehicle is going to make them stick out like a sore thumb." Max pointed out as the two began to think. Then they all turn their attention to the sea._

_"They'll need a boat!" They exclaimed._

_"And the only boat that's around her is Mr. Briney's! Right?" Max asked._

_Aria gasped. "That's right!" She said._

_"This is not good!" Brock pointed out._

_"So that's why, they want to use Mr. Briney's boat to meet up with Team Aqua!" Ash said._

_"That means, Mr. Briney was just trying to protect us when trying not to know Aria and I." May said with widen eyes._

_..._

_The Team Aqua grunt grins in response as he began to head for Mr. Briney's boat. Mr. Briney tried to stop him, but he already got away with it. They took Peeko with them too!_

_"We have to save Peeko!" Aria exclaimed._

_"But how are we going to do that with no boat?" Max asked._

_"We've got to figure out a way!" Ash said._

_"Alright, looks like I'm left with no other choice." They heard Mr. Briney say as they watched him enter his garage, but glancing at the others from over his shoulder. "Okay kids, come with me."_

_They obeyed, following him inside as he flipped a lever. The lights flickered on and the water began to turn into a whirlpool. Then it splits in have and separated as it revealed a hidden boat. It rises out as the water returned to normal. Everyone was in awe, amazed at what just happened. Aria gasped quietly as she realized the boat looked exactly like Peeko!_

_"Say hello to my high speed boat! The SSSWingull!" Mr. Briney announced._

_..._

_Before Electrike could even attack, a big wave a water passed over them as both Aria and Electrike grip tightly onto the boat. Once it cleared, they realized how far the Team Aqua Grunt has gotten._

_"He's almost at Triangle Rock!" Aria exclaimed as she realized Ash and Pikachu was up there with her._

_"We'll have to destroy the rock!" He said. Aria nodded._

_"Right!"_

_"Pikachu, use Thunder!"_

_"And Electrike, use Spark once more!"_

_They launched their attacks right at the rock, but it only destroyed most of it, leaving on a base left of it sticking out of the water._

_"There's still a lot left!" May exclaimed._

_"Alright kids, hold on!" Mr. Briney told them as he increased the speed on the ship._

_He took a quick turn before he was right next to the rock and the ship inches away from hitting them. Mr. Briney tips the ship slightly, and the boat went flying over both Ash and Aria as they watched it fly over the rock as well. It crashed right into the water as Aria's eyes widen._

_"Peeko!"_

_She quickly dived into the water before Ash could stop her. She quickly swims towards Peeko, lifting the cage out of the water to save the pokemon._

_"Peeko, are you okay?" She asked._

_"Wing- Wingull!" It responded happily. Aria smiled._

_"That's great to hear." Then she gasped once she noticed something emerge from the water, a large blue submarine. Aria watched as the same grunt from before go right inside of the submarine as Aria sighed. "Team Aqua... just who are those guys really?" She mumbled to herself._

* * *

"Look how blue the sky is." Ash pointed out.

"And the water too." Max added.

"It's so peaceful, no one else is around." Brock said.

"The fresh air out here is amazing." May commented.

"There's so much to take it. I just love days like these." Aria said, taking a deep breath of cool air.

"Pika Pika." Pikachu replied.

"Couldn't be better." Mr. Briney said. "The seas' in a good mood today, and I am to. A perfect day to be out on a boat."

"Wing Wingull gull!" Peeko spoke.

"How much longer until Dewford Island?" Ash asked.

"Not long. If we keep up this speed we'll easily be there by tonight." Mr. Briney replied.

"Okay, thanks." Ash grins to Pikachu. "You hear that Pikachu, we get to have our battle tomorrow."

"And, I'll be able to battle Steven. I'm excited." Aria said smiling.

"I almost forgot! Torchic, Wurmple, come on out!"

Everyone looked at May as she called out her two pokemon who appeared right in front of her.

"You guys shouldn't miss out on the fun." May said. "This way we all can enjoy the boat ride."

"You're right May." Ash agreed.

"What a great idea." Brock said.

"Here we go, come on out!" Ash called out his two pokemon.

"Alright Fortress, Lotad, come out!" Brock called out his two as well.

"We can't leave you guys to stay in your poke balls." Aria smiled. "Ivysaur, Houndoom, Electrike, Absol, come on out!"

"Let's have some fun and relax before we get there." Ash declared.

Everyone nodded in agreement, smiling brightly.

* * *

**A kid from pallet town with a brand new world to see**

**I don't know what's ahead but it won't get the best of me**

**There's so much to learn and battles to be won**

**I've advanced so far and still there's always more to come**

**Take a step and I'm on my way gonna start all over again**

**I want to be hero (hero!)**

**Pokemon advance**

**I wanna be a hero (hero!)**

**Give it just one chance**

**And the future will decide**

**If there's a hero buried deep inside**

**I wanna be a hero!**

**Pokemon!**

* * *

"The sun feel so great...!" May said, stretching her arms above her head.

"I know, what do you think about going swimming with me." Max suggested.

"Okay!"

"If you kids want to cool off with a swim I know just the place." Mr. Briney told them.

"Aw! Come on, we can't get sidetracked!" Ash whined. "If we waste time swimming and stuff we'll be late for our gym battle in Dewford! Right Pikachu?" His eyes widen when he found his pokemon, relaxing with all of the others without a care in the world.

"Well, it looks like Pikachu and the others want to have some down time too, Ash." May said smirking.

"You know, I think May could be onto something here." Brock said agreeing with her.

"Yeah but..."

"It's probably for the best." Max said. "You just won your gym battle in Rustboro City. And being the great trainer that you are you shouldn't have to push yourself so hard."

"Well, I suppose." Ash said, rubbing the back of his head.

"It'll take a little more than a swim to stop you from being a Pokemon Master."

"Besides, me having to do two battles in one day? It's a bit of a hassle you know? Both my pokemon and I wouldn't be ready for another battle just after doing the gym. Don't you think we should just wait a day before doing all of the that stuff?" Aria said, crossing her arms to her chest. "Right Ivysaur?"

"Ivy, Ivysaur!" It replied.

"See?"

"I guess you're right." Ash laughed. "A little swimming has gotta do the trick."

* * *

"Look, there's the island up ahead." Aria pointed out, leaning back to peek at the island.

"Wow, this must be a totally secret location." Ash said.

"This seems like the place were pirates would come to bury their treasure." Max commented.

"Excuse me, what is the name of this island we're heading towards?" Brock asked.

"This island has no name, and you won't find it on any map." Mr. Briney replied. "I found this place long ago when I was just a young sailor out on my own for the first time. I sneak out here now and then just for fun. But would you believe when that I'm not at sea, I forget about this place entirely."

"Is it because it's so unknown that you forget it yourself some times?" Aria asked.

"Maybe so, but this place tends to be a place where I would like to come and relax with my dear friend Peeko." He said.

The backdoor opens and May walks out wearing one of the swimsuits she bought in Rustboro City.

"When did you get that swimsuit May?" Max asked.

"I bought it at Rustboro City because I'm better at planning ahead than you guys." She said before she dived into the water. "Come on in guys!"

"Coming through!" Max jumps into the water, leaving Brock, Ash, and Aria dumbfounded.

"Was he wearing that the entire time?" Ash thought aloud.

"Let's not think about that." Aria said as a anime sweat drop fell down the side of her face.

"We should go swimming too." Brock suggested.

"Let's, this could be really relaxing." Aria pointed out.

"Yeah, who's up to go swimming?" Ash asked the pokemon.

Everyone but Tochic shook their head.

"Being a fire pokemon, guess it wants to stay on the boat." Brock said.

"But what about Houndoom?" Ash asked.

"Oh, he loves the water. He may be a fire type, but he's also a dark type." Aria said.

Max and May scream and the others rushed to look what was happening. They gasped in disbelief when they saw lots of pokemon surrounding them.

"Sharpedo!" Mr. Briney exclaimed. "Where did they come from!?"

"Help Mr. Briney!" They cried in unison.

"Peeko, go!" Peeko flew towards them and was flying above them. "Stay calm and each grab one of Peeko's legs!" He told them.

They nodded and grabbed one leg. Peeko struggled to pick them up in the air and tried to take them back to the boat. The Sharpedo jumped out of the water to try and get them, but most of them were missing them.

"Taillow, help them out!" Ash told the pokemon.

Taillow flies in and starts to peck at the ones that were jumping out of the water at May and Max.

One of the Sharpedo jumped out and brushed against Max's leg, which left a bad wound.

"Careful! Sharpedo have a unique trait called Rough Skin!" Mr. Briney warned them.

"Pikachu, Thunderbolt!"

"Electrike, Discharge!" Aria told the pokemon.

The two electric type pokemon launch the attack right at the Sharpedo and get a direct hit on all of them.

"Alright, now's the time!" Brock said.

Taillow started to help Wingdull carry May and Max and landed them back on the boat.

"Are you two going to be okay?" Mr. Briney asked.

May gasped once she noticed a few tears in her swimsuit and felt anger course through herself.

"Hey you! This swimsuit was brand new and very expensive, how dare you put a rip in-!" May screamed when one of them jumped out at her by surprise.

"It still hurts." Max said, clutching his leg where the Shapedo got him.

"You know, when a Sharpedo uses Rough Skin in a battle it can be damaging to most opponents that are going to attack. So it looks like you've just might of gotten off easy on this case." Brock said.

"But, what's up with these Sharpedo?" Aria wondered as she took out her pokedex to find out more about it.

**"Sharpedo, the Brutal Pokémon. Sharpedo can shoot out a jet of water, allowing it to swim at 80 miles per hour. Due to their sharp fangs, they're highly feared and known as the Gangs of the Sea."**

"Since the Sharpedo have come here, I think we should get going." Mr. Briney suggested.

The boat started to shake, scaring the others by surprise. It was the Sharpedo, they were trying to knock them off the boat to get them. Aria looked out at the Sharpedo, and noticed one very strange. One of them seemed to be commanding the Sharpedo on what to do to them.

"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt again!" Ash told the electric mouse.

Pikachu nods, and this time, uses most of his power to hit the Sharpedo.

"Great, let's move!" Mr. Briney starts to boat and heads for the shore.


	16. EPISODE 19: PART 2

**Battling Sharpedo  
Episode 19: Part 2**

"Superb! This food tastes like it comes from the top restaurants I've been to on sailing adventures." Mr. Briney said, taking another spoon full of it.

The moon was already high and full. After the incident with the Sharpedo, they made a small campfire and with all of their pokemon invited to eat.

"Yeah! Brock and Aria are the best when it comes to cooking!" Ash agreed.

"Glad you all like it." Brock said with a nod. "So it eat up, there's plenty to go around. And if anyone wants to drink some tea, Aria prepared a special herbal bland."

"This fruit is my favorite!" May cried taking another bite out of it. "It's so good!"

"You know why? Because it was me that picked it off the tree!" Max said as he impressed himself only.

"I never knew camping out on such a deserted island could be so much fun." Ash replied.

"It would be more fun, if it wasn't for them." Mr. Briney said, looking out towards the sea.

"Well, it looks like there're aren't as many as them as before." May pointed out.

"True, but the ones left behind are acting as lookouts." Mr. Briney explained.

"Look outs?" Max said, looking over at him.

Mr. Briney nods in response. "The others are probably resting somewhere far from here."

"Whoa, Sharpedo seem like pretty smart pokemon." Ash pointed out.

"They are." Brock said.

"But, there was that one Sharpedo." Aria said.

Everyone looked at her as she placed her hand on her chin.

"I noticed a Sharpedo commanding the other Sharpedo on attacking us. I think he might be the leader of them. But, I thought only Sharpedo work individual? Isn't it odd that one is leading all of them in this one place?"

"Aria might be onto something." Ash said.

"Yes, I thought that was strange as well." Mr. Briney replied. "And judging by what we saw this afternoon, it's almost feels like the Sharpedo are working together to trap us."

"Well I have to get off this island to buy a new swimsuit." May grumbled. Ash looked over at her with a smile.

"Hey, all it's going to take is a pokemon battle and-"

"Against that many of them?" Max said cutting Ash off. "We only have 12 pokemon with us. It's impossible!"

Ash sighed. "Yeah..."

"There could still be a way." Brock said.

"Brock is right." Aria said agreeing with him. "The one Sharpedo, maybe if we battle the leader, we might be able to get off this island with no problem. They'll start taking orders from us instead."

"That's a good idea." Mr. Briney said. "We'll have to give it a shot."

* * *

Once it became morning, everyone started to work on a plan. They decided that it would be best to lure away the other Sharpedo and leave the leader to be alone while one distracts the other Sharpedo. And the one that is going to do that was Ash. Max, May, and Mr. Briney were going to use a wooden barrier to block the Sharpedo from helping the leader, so that whoever was going to fight the leader would be able to fight it alone. That was their plan, and they hoped it would work.

"That should work." Ash said with a chuckle. "Hey, everything's ready at my end! How's it going over there?"

"Everything is good to go!" Mr. Briney called.

"Okay, great! Okay you two, time to go." Ash picks up the ropes that were attached to Peeko and Taillow and started to pull Ash through the water on a bucket. Ash started to call out to the Sharpedo as the leader sent all of them to chase after Ash. Once he got their attention, Ash started to lead them away from the island, only leaving the leader behind.

"Alright, let's go." Mr. Briney said as he, May, and Max started to pull on a rope. It started to expand out a wooden wall that would prevent the other Sharpedo from getting through and it also stopped the leader from escaping. The Sharpedo's eyes widen in surprise and swam quickly towards the barrier and kept slamming into it. The others weren't expecting this and May fell into the water by surprise. She swam up to get a breath of air before screaming when she saw Sharpedo swimming towards her.

"Oh no!" Aria took out a poke ball. "Ivysaur, use Razor Leaf!"

Ivysaur appears and launched the leaves right at Sharpedo, landing a direct hit. Sharpedo comes to a stop, turning around to face.

"Nice hit!" Brock praised.

Aria smirks. "You should go help the others out, I'll take care of this." She told him.

"Okay, and good luck!" He ran towards the others, helping Mr. Briney and Max get May out of the water. Ash soon came back and saw the battle between Aria and Sharpedo. Aria thought, was having a bit of trouble. She was worried about the ability that Sharpedo had, so she was limited to certain moves.

"We'll have to stick with Razor Leaf for now, do it again Ivysaur... Wait, hold up!" She told her pokemon.

"Aria, what is it?" Ash called to her.

She didn't answer his response until she jumped into the water.

"Aria?!" Everyone exclaimed.

"What is she doing?!" Max cried in confusion and worry.

She emerged out of the water and in front of Sharpedo. He wasn't moving at all, he was just staring straight forward, not even battling.

"Sharpedo?" She asked.

Aria gasped once she saw Sharpedo fall over on its side and faint.

"Sharpedo!" She rushed towards the pokemon, and helped it sit up straight. "Ivysaur, use Vine Whip to pull him to shore!" She told him.

Ivysaur nods, using the move to pull Sharpedo and Aria towards the shore. Everyone ran in their direction as Aria started to check on Sharpedo.

"Aria, is that Sharpedo going to be okay?" Ash asked.

"I'm not sure." She said. "But it appears he's been poisoned."

"Poisoned?" May said confused.

"Yes, I think it must have been fighting another pokemon in the ocean." She said.

"Maybe it could have had a battle with a Tentacruel." Max suggested.

"Is there anything we can do to help?" Ash asked.

"I don't know. We don't have many supplies left. But, we're lucky that I still have one of these left." Aria held up a vial and Brock and Ash smiled.

"You have one!" Ash cried.

"What is that?" Max and May asked in unison.

"You see, Aria can make special herbs for pokemon that are either poisoned, paralyzed, anything." Brock explained.

"Wow, that's amazing." May commented.

"This one is the last poison antidote we have left. It should cure the poison that's on Sharpedo." She opens the vial and lifts up Sharpedo's jaw. She placed the herbal medicine in its mouth and closed it. "I hope this makes you feel better Sharpedo." She said.

"Aria, you're doing a terrific job," Mr. Briney said. "And I'm sure Sharpedo appreciates everything that you can do for it."

"Thanks Mr. Briney." Aria thanked.

"Ivy, Ivysaur!" Ivysaur replied.

"You're right Ivysaur, we'll have to do with the best we have." She held up three other poke balls and called out her other pokemon. "We'll need all of your help with Sharpedo, will you give me a hand?"

They all cried in response and Aria smiles.

"Thank you guys." She said smiling. She glanced at Sharpedo, slowing rubbing its head. "Just hang in there Sharpedo." She told it. "You'll feel better in no time."


	17. EPISODE 19: PART 3

**Two chapters in one day! :D That's how I roll! Um, okay, so this the point in this story where I want to answer a few questions about a few things. But sadly I only have one for today.**

**ctran03931: Yeah, I actually did work on that missing episode, I will publishing it soon, just right after I am done with this episode. I'm checking things over on it right now, so it should be posted by tonight or tomorrow. I'm not fully sure yet, I haven't decided yet since I'm also working on the movie as well. I'm not even close to finishing that yet. XD But that pun though, I think I might go with it for now on. :3 Also thanks for the suggestions in the earlier chapters too, that really helped. ****:D**

* * *

**A New Friend  
Episode 19: Part 3**

Once it was late, everyone started to eat dinner once again, everyone except Aria and her pokemon. Everyone was eating silently before looking over at Aria who was working hard to help Sharpedo feel better.

"Aria is going to wear herself out taking care of that Sharpedo." May pointed out, frowning.

Max frowns as well. "You're right."

Aria takes a deep breath before taking a cloth that Ivysaur handed her and wiped the sweat off her forehead.

"Don't worry Sharpedo." She assured quietly. "I'll make sure that you'll feel better in no time. You're suppose to be the leader, this kind of problem can ruin your reputation."

Aria could tell that Sharpedo was fast alseep, even her pokemon were tired out. But what she didn't realize, was that Sharpedo was only half sleep and listening to what she's been telling it. It listened to everything that she had to say, it didn't ignore her once. As Aria continued to help, she started to feel droopy. She slowly felt herself fall asleep laying on Sharpedo.

* * *

When it became morning, the sun was high and bright. Everyone was still fast asleep, except for Sharpedo. His eyes opened slowly before looking around. His eyes spot Ivysaur fast asleep and glared at it for fighting it. That is until it saw Aria sleeping on the side of its body. He stared at her for a moment, seeing how tired she was from last night. Its eyes slowly closed before placing its fin on Aria's back. Ivysaur slowly woke up before spotting Sharpedo hugging Aria with its one fin. It smiled, happy to know that Sharpedo finally trusts them.

But then, the wooden barrier sudden breaks, the loud noise startling Ash and Aria awake. They saw a large Magikarp in the distance and that it shot out two nets in different directions. Once went after Pikachu and caught it, and the other towards Aria and Sharpedo. Sharpedo pushes Aria out of the way and gets caught by the net.

"Sharpedo!" Aria cried, landing into the water before swimming out to get a breath of air.

It pulled the two pokemon towards the submarine and held them above the water.

May, Max, Brock, and Mr. Briney rushed towards the seem and saw that Team Rocket was the ones who captured Pikachu and Sharpedo. Once again doing their motto.

"We came, we saw, and we concurred." Jessie said.

"Team Rocket! Give back Pikachu and Sharpedo!" Ash demanded.

"I don't wanna."

"That Sharpedo is very weak and sick! He's poisoned!" Aria exclaimed.

Jessie's eyes widen before they narrow.

"Well, if it isn't for the same Sharpedo." She said. "Looks like Serviper's Poison Tail is working beautifully."

"What?! So you're the ones who did this to Sharpedo!?" Aria demanded.

"Do you have a problem with that?" Jessie yelled.

"Perhaps you could send sympathy to our way!" James yelled as well. "We were the ones brutally attacked!"

"They're mean!" Meowth added.

Aria grits her teeth together. "So you want to play that game huh? Ivysaur, Razor Leaf!"

Ivysaur nods, launching the attacking right at the nets and breaking them. Pikachu and Sharpedo fell into the water and started to swim back towards the shore.

"Pikachu, Thunder..." Then Ash and Pikachu smirked. "Well, it looks like we don't have to do anything this time."

Team Rocket blinked, confused by what he meant.

"How come we ain't blasting off?" Meowth questioned.

"Hey Team Rocket! Behind you!" Aria told them with a smirk.

They slowly turned around before screaming in surprise. The whole school of Sharpedo were able to get past because the barrier was destroyed thanks to Team Rocket.

"Is it possible that they're all smiling at us?" James asked worriedly.

"Well, if they are, they are probably look at their next meal they're going to devour!" Meowth exclaimed.

"What are you talking about?" Jessie asked nervously.

The leader Sharpedo then started to command the other Sharpedo to attack and they charged foward, a white trail following behind them. They crashed into the submarine and set Team Rocket flying in the sky.

"At least we saw them coming this time!" They exclaimed in unison before they disappeared out of the sky.

Everyone smiled at their success before Aria spotted Sharpedo approach them.

"Sharpedo!" She cried, rubbing Sharpedo on the head. "It looks like you're feeling much better now, huh?" Aria yelped in surprise once the other Sharpedo came at her and surrounded her. First she thought they were attacking her, but they actually weren't, even the Rough Skin wasn't have an effect on her.

"Sharpedo's Rough Skin isn't going to work on you anymore." Mr. Briney pointed out.

"But why not?" Max asked confused.

"Because you all made friends with it. Didn't you know that certain pokemon traits that stop working on people once pokemon grow to like them?"

"Wow, you're right." Ash pointed out, petting one of the Sharpedo.

"This is cool, I can't believe it." Max said impressed.

Aria smiled at her pokemon as they all laughed at everyone's reactions. Then she looked back at Sharpedo.

"Sharpedo, I guess we're all friends now, aren't we?" Aria asked.

Sharpedo nods in response as Aria pets it on the head once more.

* * *

Once the sun was already setting, Mr. Briney took them right to Dewford Island. The Sharpedos decided to follow them before they all say their goodbyes.

"This here is Dewford Town on Dewford Island." Mr. Briney pointed out.

"Thank you so much Mr. Briney." Ash said.

"I'll be heading to Slateport City so I can prepare for my cruise. I hope to see you again some day." He said.

"Wing, Wingull!" Peeko replied.

"Yeah." They all said in unison.

"I'll have a new swimsuit by then." May replied.

Mr. Briney began to set sail, including the Sharpedo. Everyone waved to them, until, the leader Sharpedo came to a stop and turned around. Aria looked confused at first until Sharpedo stopped right in front of them.

"What is it Sharpedo?" Aria asked.

"Shar, Sharpedo!" It said.

"I think Sharpedo wants to join you on your journey Aria." Max said.

"Huh, really?" She asked.

"Sharpedo!"

Aria smiled. "Well, if that's the case," She takes out another poke ball. "Poke ball go!" She throws it up in the air and Sharpedo jumps out of the water and towards it. Sharpedo hits it and goes right into it. Aria caught it in her hands and it shook for a few seconds before she heard the ding. "Welcome to the gang Sharpedo." She said smiling warmly. "It's great to have you with us."


	18. Episode XX: Part I

**Okay, soo...I got something to tell you all. The missing episode for the second gym battle for Ash and Aria. It's gone. I just checked my files to publish it, and it was gone! I don't know what happened to it! I searched and searched my computer, but I couldn't find it! I'm so sorry to everyone who was been waiting for it, I just have to rewrite it... It might not be updated until next week, I'm not sure when. I'm still double checking my computer to find it. Anyways, I'll see you guys later!**

* * *

**Brave the Wave! Aria vs. Brawly!  
****Episode 20: Part 1**

**Recap on the last episode...**

_"The sun feel so great...!" May said, stretching her arms above her head._

_"I know, what do you think about going swimming with me." Max suggested._

_"Okay!"_

_"If you kids want to cool off with a swim I know just the place." Mr. Briney told them._

_"Aw! Come on, we can't get sidetracked!" Ash whined. "If we waste time swimming and stuff we'll be late for our gym battle in Dewford! Right Pikachu?" His eyes widen when he found his pokemon, relaxing with all of the others without a care in the world._

_"Well, it looks like Pikachu and the others want to have some down time too, Ash." May said smirking._

_"You know, I think May could be onto something here." Brock said agreeing with her._

_"Yeah but..."_

_"It's probably for the best." Max said. "You just won your gym battle in Rustboro City. And being the great trainer that you are you shouldn't have to push yourself so hard."_

_"Well, I suppose." Ash said, rubbing the back of his head._

_"It'll take a little more than a swim to stop you from being a Pokemon Master."_

_..._

_Max and May scream and the others rushed to look what was happening. They gasped in disbelief when they saw lots of pokemon surrounding them._

_"Sharpedo!" Mr. Briney exclaimed. "Where did they come from!?"_

_"Help Mr. Briney!" They cried in unison._

_"Peeko, go!" Peeko flew towards them and was flying above them. "Stay calm and each grab one of Peeko's legs!" He told them._

_They nodded and grabbed one leg. Peeko struggled to pick them up in the air and tried to take them back to the boat. The Sharpedo jumped out of the water to try and get them, but most of them were missing them._

_"Taillow, help them out!" Ash told the pokemon._

_Taillow flies in and starts to peck at the ones that were jumping out of the water at May and Max._

_One of the Sharpedo jumped out and brushed against Max's leg, which left a bad wound._

_"Careful! Sharpedo have a unique trait called Rough Skin!" Mr. Briney warned them._

_"Pikachu, Thunderbolt!"_

_"Electrike, Discharge!" Aria told the pokemon._

_The two electric type pokemon launch the attack right at the Sharpedo and get a direct hit on all of them._

_"Alright, now's the time!" Brock said._

_Taillow started to help Wingdull carry May and Max and landed them back on the boat._

_"Are you two going to be okay?" Mr. Briney asked._

_May gasped once she noticed a few tears in her swimsuit and felt anger course through herself._

_"Hey you! This swimsuit was brand new and very expensive, how dare you put a rip in-!" May screamed when one of them jumped out at her by surprise._

_"It still hurts." Max said, clutching his leg where the Shapedo got him._

_"You know, when a Sharpedo uses Rough Skin in a battle it can be damaging to most opponents that are going to attack. So it looks like you've just might of gotten off easy on this case." Brock said._

_..._

_"I never knew camping out on such a deserted island could be so much fun." Ash replied._

_"It would be more fun, if it wasn't for them." Mr. Briney said, looking out towards the sea._

_"Well, it looks like there're aren't as many as them as before." May pointed out._

_"True, but the ones left behind are acting as lookouts." Mr. Briney explained._

_"Look outs?" Max said, looking over at him._

_Mr. Briney nods in response. "The others are probably resting somewhere far from here."_

_"Whoa, Sharpedo seem like pretty smart pokemon." Ash pointed out._

_"They are." Brock said._

_"But, there was that one Sharpedo." Aria said._

_Everyone looked at her as she placed her hand on her chin._

_"I noticed a Sharpedo commanding the other Sharpedo on attacking us. I think he might be the leader of them. But, I thought only Sharpedo work individual? Isn't it odd that one is leading all of them in this one place?"_

_"Aria might be onto something." Ash said._

_"Yes, I thought that was strange as well." Mr. Briney replied. "And judging by what we saw this afternoon, it's almost feels like the Sharpedo are working together to trap us."_

_"Well I have to get off this island to buy a new swimsuit." May grumbled. Ash looked over at her with a smile._

_"Hey, all it's going to take is a pokemon battle and-"_

_"Against that many of them?" Max said cutting Ash off. "We only have 12 pokemon with us. It's impossible!"_

_Ash sighed. "Yeah..."_

_"There could still be a way." Brock said._

_"Brock is right." Aria said agreeing with him. "The one Sharpedo, maybe if we battle the leader, we might be able to get off this island with no problem. They'll start taking orders from us instead."_

_"That's a good idea." Mr. Briney said. "We'll have to give it a shot."_

_..._

_"We'll have to stick with Razor Leaf for now, do it again Ivysaur... Wait, hold up!" She told her pokemon._

_"Aria, what is it?" Ash called to her._

_She didn't answer his response until she jumped into the water._

_"Aria?!" Everyone exclaimed._

_"What is she doing?!" Max cried in confusion and worry._

_She emerged out of the water and in front of Sharpedo. He wasn't moving at all, he was just staring straight forward, not even battling._

_"Sharpedo?" She asked._

_Aria gasped once she saw Sharpedo fall over on its side and faint._

_"Sharpedo!" She rushed towards the pokemon, and helped it sit up straight. "Ivysaur, use Vine Whip to pull him to shore!" She told him._

_Ivysaur nods, using the move to pull Sharpedo and Aria towards the shore. Everyone ran in their direction as Aria started to check on Sharpedo._

_"Aria, is that Sharpedo going to be okay?" Ash asked._

_"I'm not sure." She said. "But it appears he's been poisoned."_

_"Poisoned?" May said confused._

_"Yes, I think it must have been fighting another pokemon in the ocean." She said._

_"Maybe it could have had a battle with a Tentacruel." Max suggested._

_"Is there anything we can do to help?" Ash asked._

_"I don't know. We don't have many supplies left. But, we're lucky that I still have one of these left." Aria held up a vial and Brock and Ash smiled._

_"You have one!" Ash cried._

_"What is that?" Max and May asked in unison._

_"You see, Aria can make special herbs for pokemon that are either poisoned, paralyzed, anything." Brock explained._

_"Wow, that's amazing." May commented._

_"This one is the last poison antidote we have left. It should cure the poison that's on Sharpedo." She opens the vial and lifts up Sharpedo's jaw. She placed the herbal medicine in its mouth and closed it. "I hope this makes you feel better Sharpedo." She said._

_"Aria, you're doing a terrific job," Mr. Briney said. "And I'm sure Sharpedo appreciates everything that you can do for it."_

_"Thanks Mr. Briney." Aria thanked._

_"Ivy, Ivysaur!" Ivysaur replied._

_"You're right Ivysaur, we'll have to do with the best we have." She held up three other poke balls and called out her other pokemon. "We'll need all of your help with Sharpedo, will you give me a hand?"_

_They all cried in response and Aria smiles._

_"Thank you guys." She said smiling. She glanced at Sharpedo, slowing rubbing its head. "Just hang in there Sharpedo." She told it. "You'll feel better in no time."_

_..._

_"Sharpedo!" She cried, rubbing Sharpedo on the head. "It looks like you're feeling much better now, huh?" Aria yelped in surprise once the other Sharpedo came at her and surrounded her. First she thought they were attacking her, but they actually weren't, even the Rough Skin wasn't have an effect on her._

_"Sharpedo's Rough Skin isn't going to work on you anymore." Mr. Briney pointed out._

_"But why not?" Max asked confused._

_"Because you all made friends with it. Didn't you know that certain pokemon traits that stop working on people once pokemon grow to like them?"_

_"Wow, you're right." Ash pointed out, petting one of the Sharpedo._

_"This is cool, I can't believe it." Max said impressed._

_Aria smiled at her pokemon as they all laughed at everyone's reactions. Then she looked back at Sharpedo._

_"Sharpedo, I guess we're all friends now, aren't we?" Aria asked._

_Sharpedo nods in response as Aria pets it on the head once more._

_..._

_"This here is Dewford Town on Dewford Island." Mr. Briney pointed out._

_"Thank you so much Mr. Briney." Ash said._

_"I'll be heading to Slateport City so I can prepare for my cruise. I hope to see you again some day." He said._

_"Wing, Wingull!" Peeko replied._

_"Yeah." They all said in unison._

_"I'll have a new swimsuit by then." May replied._

_Mr. Briney began to set sail, including the Sharpedo. Everyone waved to them, until, the leader Sharpedo came to a stop and turned around. Aria looked confused at first until Sharpedo stopped right in front of them._

_"What is it Sharpedo?" Aria asked._

_"Shar, Sharpedo!" It said._

_"I think Sharpedo wants to join you on your journey Aria." Max said._

_"Huh, really?" She asked._

_"Sharpedo!"_

_Aria smiled. "Well, if that's the case," She takes out another poke ball. "Poke ball go!" She throws it up in the air and Sharpedo jumps out of the water and towards it. Sharpedo hits it and goes right into it. Aria caught it in her hands and it shook for a few seconds before she heard the ding. "Welcome to the gang Sharpedo." She said smiling warmly. "It's great to have you with us."_

* * *

_"Are you sure this is what you want to do?"_

Aria nods slowly. "I'm very sure Professor Oak." She said. "Could you send them over? The gym leader uses fighting types right? Then I'll have an advantage if I have the both of them with me."

_"Alright, if that's what you think is best."_ Professor Oak said. "Who will you be sending over?"

"It'll be Houndoom and Absol." She said, holding up the two poke balls.

_"Okay, I'll go get the others then."_ He stood up from his seat and walked out of the room for a moment. Aria stares down at the poke balls in her hands.

"You two will like it in Professor Oak's lab. Besides, Absol, you'll be able to make some new friends there."

Professor Oak soon comes back and holds up two poke balls.

_"I have them right here. Let's get them transported."_ He said.

Aria nods. "Okay."

She placed the poke balls on the transporter and they disappeared in the matter of seconds. Then two other poke balls appeared as she picked them up.

"I got them professor." She said.

_"And I have Houndoom and Absol right here."_ Professor Oak replied.

"Thanks professor."

_"Good luck to you and Ash on your gym battle."_

* * *

"Great, we're all set now." Ash said, adjusting his glove as he left the Pokemon Center. "Hey Pikachu, are you ready to challenge the Dewford Gym?"

"Pika Pika!" Pikachu said happily.

They ran off ahead and Brock and Max walk out of the Pokemon Center yawning.

"Those two are sure ready to go, aren't they Brock?" Max asked tiredly.

"Oh yeah, I'm sure he wants to go for his second gym badge while he still hot off his victory at the Rustboro Gym."

They heard a yawn and turned around. There stood May, holding a pillow in her arms.

"A gym battle this early in the morning should be illegal." She complained.

"Uh, May, what is that your carrying?" Max asked.

May looks down before noticing the pillow in her hands. She gasped, blushing.

"Oops! I almost took my pillow from the Pokemon Center..." She said embarrassed. "Hey, where did Aria go?"

"I'm over here!" They look outside and spot her leaning against a light pole as she waved to get their attention. "I just had to do something before we head to the gym." She said, lowering her arm. "Ash and Pikachu seem to be as excited as I am."

"I'm surprise your not like him and run off towards the gym without us." Max said.

Aria chuckled lightly, shaking her head. "We're actually a bit opposite! You see, Ash and I don't share the same dream, remember back in the Pokemon Academy in Rustboro City?"

"Oh right, I forgot that you wanted to become friends with all pokemon." May said, shaking her head.

Aria nods. "That's the plan. I could be doing other things like becoming a Pokemon Coordinator, or doing other things that involve traveling. I'm just doing it for fun."

"You should really try it out Aria." May said to her. "It could be fun."

Aria chuckles, "Maybe another time," She said. "For now, I'm going to stay as a Pokemon Trainer for a long time. Maybe in the future I'll do one just for fun."

"That's the spirit Aria." Max said.

Aria nods to him. "Thanks."

* * *

**A kid from pallet town with a brand new world to see**

**I don't know what's ahead but it won't get the best of me**

**There's so much to learn and battles to be won**

**I've advanced so far and still there's always more to come**

**Take a step and I'm on my way gonna start all over again**

**I want to be hero (hero!)**

**Pokemon advance**

**I wanna be a hero (hero!)**

**Give it just one chance**

**And the future will decide**

**If there's a hero buried deep inside**

**I wanna be a hero!**

**Pokemon!**

* * *

Aria, May, Max, and Brock finally caught up to Ash and Pikachu, and stood in front of a large building.

"Fight the big wave?" May said confused.

"If they have that written right on the door of their gym they must be pretty confident in their fighting huh?" Max said in wonder.

"Maybe your right, it's probably one of those musclebound trainers. Remember Chuck from the Cianwood Gym?" Brock asked Ash and Aria.

"How could we forget about him?" Aria joked.

"Who cares, don't forget we had some pretty awesome wins ourselves." Ash said. "Right Pikachu?"

"Pika, Pikachu."

Ash approached the front door and started to knock on it.

"Hello? Is anyone in there?" He asked. Then the door suddenly flies open and hits Ash. Lot of people ran out, carrying surfboards and heading towards the beach. Ash was laying on the ground, dizzy from being hit from the door.

"Those surprise attacks aren't fair." He mutters.

"Hey dude! It's probably not the best place for you to be taking a nap."

Ash looks up before noticing a guy in front of him with bright light blue hair.

"I know! You see..." He trails off.

Then Brock started to get all gushy from the girls standing behind the guy.

"Can I help you with something bro?" The guy asked.

"Yeah, I'm looking for the gym leader." Ash said.

"No way, I'm him!" The guy said, pointing at himself. Ash gasped in surprise.

"Brawly, the gym leader of the Dewford Gym." He greeted. "Are you here to challenge me little man?"

"Yeah! I'm Ash from Pallet Town! My sister and I would like to battle you!" He said.

Aria waved, helping Ash stand up before leaning against his shoulder.

"My name is Aria. I'm Ash's older sister." She greeted.

"It's nice to meet you both, but we can't exactly have a battle. You see, right up until yesterday the beach got these narly waves. But today, there's a radical one just off shore! Come back tomorrow." Then he ran off, carrying his surfboard.

"What just happened?" Aria asked confused.

"The nerve of that guy!" Ash exclaimed angrily. "And after I got myself hyped up for this battle too! What kind of a gym leader is he?"

"Ash, it is possible to be a gym leader and have a life you know. Come on, we should go check it out." May said before running off.

"Riding the waves with those gorgeous surfer girls sounds cool to me!" Brock said, following after May.

"Let's go check it out guys, come on!" Aria said to them, chasing after the other two.

"Wait!" Ash called to them. "But they didn't listen. It was just him and Max.

"Guess you can't battle without a gym leader." Max said.

"Right. I guess there's no choice."

They quickly ran to catch up to the others.

Once they reached the beach, May suggested they go swimming and started to take of her clothes. Everyone tenses.

"Wait! You can't undress her!" Max exclaimed quickly.

"It's fine! I'm wearing my swimsuit underneath my clothes!" She said, showing off her swimsuit that she bought a while ago. Then, Brock was distracted by all of the surfer girls that were surfing on the waves. Then, May pointed out where Brawly was and they saw him riding the waves with a pokemon.

"Hey, what's the pokemon?" Ash wondered aloud.

"It's a Makuhita!" Max cried.

"Makuhita, the Guts Pokémon. Makuhita never gives up, always getting back on its feet no matter how many times its knocked over. Each time rising to its feet builds up energy in its body."

"Hold it, this guy turned down my challenge just to go do some surfing!?" Ash exclaimed angrily. "Well not for long, because I'm going to get him to battle me right now!"

Ash jumps into the water and started to follow after Brawly and his Makuhita. The others just watched what happened, the whole thing was Ash trying to get him battle with him. But, the wave they were riding on fell over them and Aria gasped.

"Guys, they need help!" She exclaimed before running towards the sea with the others. "Hey are you okay?" She asked Brawly.

"Yeah, we're fine. Hanging in there. Okay, Makuhita, we can't miss it." He said.

"Wait!"

They all look and saw movement in the sand before Ash stuck his body out of the sand, his arms extending in the air.

"Won't you just battle with me!" He exclaimed.

Then all of a sudden, Pikachu cried out in surprise when he was pulled away in a net. Everyone gasped in surprise as they saw a boat with a familiar gang of people on board it. Pikachu tried to use Thunderbolt on the net, but it only bounced back and did damage to itself.

"I love these anti-electrical nets." Meowth said.

"And the boss is going to love us!" Jessie said, cupping her hands together.

"The all new shining star top of the Hoenn Region's Team Rocket!" James said.

"If nothing else, it's a great title!" Meowth added.

"Hey, who are you crazy dudes anyway?" Brawly demanded.

Then once again, with the motto. But Meowth cut both Jessie and James off.

"Enough, we already got that part out!" He said. "And speaking of got, let's get before we don't have Pikachu anymore."

"You've got a point." They said in unison.

The engine starts and they started to get away.

"Get back here Team Rocket!" Ash demanded aloud.

"Whoa, you can't steal pokemon like that!" Brawly exclaimed. "Makuhita, help Pikachu now!"

Makuhita nods, taking the red surfboard and using his arms to swim faster in the water. Once Makuhita got close, it bumped right into the boat and Pikachu went flying off into the water, still trapped in the net. Ash quickly rushes towards Pikachu and picks it up out of the water. He took Pikachu out of the net before telling it to use Thunderbolt. Pikachu jumps into the air and attacks Team Rocket with its powerful Thunderbolt. The group of fools was sent flying in the sky like they always do.

"That Pikachu of yours is amazing little dude." Brawly said turning to Ash. "I've never seen a Thunderbolt with so much power."

"I guess Pikachu is my number one dude," Ash joked. "So Brawly, will you face me and my sister in a gym battle?"

"You know, I guess there are just some things that are meant to happen, huh. You've got it! I accept your battle challenge little man!" Brawly said.

"Great, thanks!"

Once they got to the gym, Ash and the others had a big conversation before the gym battle started.

"So, I should go first then?" Aria asked.

"They always say ladies first, so why not?" May said with a smile. "Come on, it could fun."

Aria chuckled at her response, "I guess so."

"Hey, are you dudes ready?" Brawly approached them. "Who's going to battle me first?"

"It's going to be Aria." Ash said as Pikachu jumped onto his shoulder.

The match between the Dewford Gym Leader Brawly, and the challenger Aria from Pallet Town will now begin. Each trainer will use two pokemon, only the challenger is allowed substitutions." The referee said.

Aria grins, reaching for a poke ball.

"It's your time to shine. Go Fearow!" She called.

The large bird appeared above her as it cried out.

"A Fearow!" Max exclaimed.

"Aria has a big advantage in the air." Ash pointed out.

"A Fearow huh." Brawly said. "Interesting."

"Battle begin!" The referee announced.

Aria's grin grew. "You haven't seen anything yet." She said.

"Alright, then you can attack first." Brawly said, grinning as well.

"Okay then. Fearow, Fury Attack!"

Fearow flies towards Machop and attacks it multiple times.

"Wow, that sure is a power attack." Ash pointed out.

Aria continued to tell Fearow to do the same attack because Brawly wasn't attacking them at all. Then it hit her, she realized that Machop was only taking the hits and not feeling any pain from it. She quickly told Fearow to stop and realized how tired the poor pokemon was.

"So you figured out my plan." Brawly said. "And it appears Fearow is all tired out."

Aria grits her teeth together. "Fearow, use Drill Run!"

"Machop use Cross Chop!" Brawly said.

The two pokemon lunged towards each other and attacked, leading a direct hit on each other. They landed roughly on the ground and struggled to get up.

"Come on Fearow, get up!" Aria told it.

"You can do it Machop!" Brawly said.

Both pokemon slowly got up and were ready to attack once again.

"Great Fearow! Now use Aerial Ace!"

Fearow flew up in the air before flipping backwards and flying towards Machop with quick speed.

"Hurry Machop, use Karate Chop!"

Both pokemon once again made contact with each other and also dealing lots of damage on each other. The crashed once again and this time, both pokemon were knocked out.

"Both pokemon are unable to battle!" The referee said.

"Oh no," Ash said. "They're both down to their last pokemon."

"That means Aria will have to focus more on defense than offense." Brock said.

"I wonder what pokemon she's going to use next." Max thought aloud.

Aria and Brawling return their two unconscious pokemon to their poke balls. Aria stares at the ground for a moment until she looks up with a smile.

"This isn't over yet." She said to Brawly. "Let's give it everything we got."

"You bet." Brawly replied. "Go Makuhita!"

His partner appeared before him, as determined as ever. Then Aria reached for another poke ball and held it out.

"Alright, come on out Ariados!"

The two pokemon stared at each other for a moment, waiting for the battle to begin. But everyone noticed something about Ariados, it had a red ribbon on its antenna. The Ariados was a girl.

"Wow, is that the pokemon I think it is?" Ash said with a smile.

"It's the Ariados that Aria used in the Silver Conference!" Max exclaimed.

"Let the battle begin!"

"You can go first Brawly." Aria told him.

"Alright, if you say so. Makuhita, use Tackle!"

Makuhita charges forward towards Ariados. But Aria didn't even give Ariados a command yet.

"Hey, why isn't Aria giving Ariados a command?" May asked.

Ash laughs. "You'll see."

Aria grins an holds out her hand.

"Dodge it Ariados!" She told the pokemon.

Ariados waited until Makuhita got close before moving away from the attack, but Ariados was moving faster than the speed of sound!

"Wow! Ariados is so fast!" Max commented. "I knew it was fast, but not that fast!"

"Ariados, use Fury Swipes!" Aria commanded.

Ariados lunges towards Makuhita and scratches it a couple of times, dealing direct damage.

"Makuhita, quickly, use Arm Thrust!" Brawly said.

"I don't think so! Ariados, use String Shot on its arm!" Aria quickly said.

Ariados launches the web at Makuhita's arm and it prevented it from attacking Ariados. Brawly gasped in surprise. He wasn't expecting her to do that! He thought he could land a direct hit on Ariados with Arm Thrust.

"Use Arm Thrust once again to get out of the web!" Brawly told it.

"Pin Missile Ariados!" Aria commanded.

Makuhita struggled to get out of the web to use its arm and Ariados launched its attack right at Makuhita. Brawly quickly changed his tactics.

"Makuhita, use the Pin Missile to cut the web!"

Makuhita moved its arm in front of him and the Pin Missile hits the web, causing it to break apart. Aria gasped in surprise. She didn't expect that from him this time!

"You're not that bad Aria." Brawly said to her.

"Thanks Brawly, you're not that bad either." Then Aria grinned again. "But I wouldn't underestimate Ariados."

"I must say, your Ariados is fast." He added. "I've never met a pokemon that fast before."

"Well, I've been training Ariados for a long time when she was just a small Spinarak. Speaking about that, let's test a few things out." She held out her hand. "Ariados, use Attract!"

Brawly's eyes widen. "Attract!?"

Hearts surrounded Ariados before they flew towards Makuhita and hits it. Makuhita's eyes turn into hearts as it fell into the attract.

"Wow! How did Aria know that was going to work?" Max asked.

"She didn't." Brock said.

"That means Ariados is a girl and Makuhita is a boy." May said.

"Aria had the perfect advantage using Attract." Max added.

"Quickly Ariados, let's finish this! Use Night Shade!" Aria said.

Ariados charges forward and hits Makuhita right on the head. It did lots of damage on Makuhita and it falls to the ground.

"Makuhita!" Brawly exclaimed.

"Makuhita is unable to battle! The winner is Aria Ketchum from Pallet Town!"

Aria's eyes widen before she ran over to Ariados and hugged her. "You did great Ariados." She told her. "I'm glad that you were here."

"Aria, great job!" Ash praised.

She looks over at him, a small smile spreads on her lips. "Thanks Ash! I couldn't have done it without all of your help from all of the training!" She said to him.

"Aria, that was such a great battle." Brawly said approaching her.

"Thanks Brawly." She said.

"Here, you deserve this." He hands her a badge. "This is the Knuckle Badges, it shows that you beat me in a Pokemon Battle."

"Wow, I can't believe we did it." She said in disbelief.

"You've earned it Aria." Brawly said before glancing at Ash. "Hey dude! Can our battle wait for a couple of hours while I get my pokemon healed up at the Pokemon Center?"

"Sure! I can't wait!" Ash replied cheerfully.

* * *

**Wow, that took a very long time to work on. 5,000 words? Whoa, we've never gotten that far in a chapter like this before! So, what did you guys think when I thought about Aria using her Kanto pokemon for this gym battle? I decided after watching a couple of the other episodes in this season, I decided that for this gym battle Aria should use one of her other pokemon that she doesn't have with her at the moment, and yes, she will be getting Houndoom and Absol back, don't worry. So, any ideas for pokemon for Aria to catch in future chapters? I haven't fully decided on which pokemon she should have, that's why I want some of your guys's suggestions, they'll really help. Also, if you noticed, I did put Adventure in Unova on hold, and it's because I'm am working on the movie that is going to be appearing in a couple of chapters. I won't say when, but it will be coming up soon. Anyway, I'll catch you all in the next chapter! Bye!**


	19. Episode XX: Part II

**Ash vs. Brawly!  
****Episode 20: Part 2**

"And begin!"

After the battle between Aria and Brawly was over, the gang had to wait for a couple of hours until of a Brawly's pokemon were healed up at the Pokemon Center, including Aria's as well. But now, the battle was just starting.

Brawly was using his Machop again and Ash chose Taillow. But right when the battle started, Aria noticed that Brawly was using the same tactic as before. Machop was taking the hits like no problem and Aria was quite surprised that Ash didn't notice this when she was battling Brawly.

But right when Brock, May, and Max started to figure it out, Aria wondered if Ash did too. Right away, Ash told Taillow to use Quick Attack instead and Brawly this time attacked using Cross Chop. It hits Taillow right on and Taillow falls to the ground. The pokemon tried to get back up, but it was knocked out from the single attack.

_Taillow was drained of its strength..._

Aria clutched Electrike in her arms, and it looked up at her in curiosity.

Aria heard the others talking about how Machop was able to handle the attacks like it was surfing, but she and the others gasped when she heard Ash was going to continue with his risky strategy.

Ash called out Treeko and Brawly was still using his Machop. Again, the same strategy with only using power attacks to win. But this time, Machop was getting tired from it. Ash quickly told Treeko to use Quick Attack and Treeko rushed forward. But Machop quickly dodged it, but Treeko used Pound and lands a direct hit.

Machop was knocked out after being hit head on with an attack like that. Brawly calls Machop back and Aria started to get sweat down her face.

_They're down to their last pokemon..._

She glanced at Treeko before noticing something about it.

_And Treeko's getting tired. It won't be able to last much longer if Ash keeps using those power attacks..._

Brawly calls out Makuhita and that was when Aria grit her teeth together.

_Not good...when I was battling Makuhita was really tough to battle, but with Treeko in this condition it won't be able to beat it unless Ash changes his strategy..._

Aria noticed that Ash called out a move and it hit Makuhita but it was only doing the same thing like before and taking the hits.

But Treeko was really exhausted and collapsed onto the ground. But Ash told it to use Quick Attack and Treeko lunged forward. Makuhita then rushed forward and punched Treeko before grabbing onto it and throwing Treeko to the ground.

"Makuhita Arm Thrust!" Brawly said.

Makuhita listened, attacking Treeko multiple times before knocking it onto the ground.

"I'd say the battle is over." Brawly said grinning, but then his eyes widen. Treeko was still ready to battle but it looked exhausted from all of the power attacks it was using. Treeko used Pound but Makuhita dodged it and grabbed onto Treeko and used Seismic Toss high in the air before heading downwards and throwing Treeko into it.

But Treeko was still getting up, he wasn't finished yet.

"Wow, look at Treeko!" Max said, shocked.

"I can't believe it still wants to battle." May said frowning.

"But Treeko can't handle it anymore! The more it battles the more weaker it will get!" Aria exclaimed.

But then, everyone gasped. They all looked at Makuhita and noticed that it was glowing.

"What's happening?" Ash asked confused.

"Makuhita is evolving!" Aria exclaimed, shocked.

Makuhita started to grow bigger and bigger until it had become a Hariyama.

"Wow, look at that." Aria said, taking out her pokedex.

**"Hariyama, the Arm Thrust Pokémon. Hariyama is the evolved form ofMakuhita. When tensing its body, its muscles become hard as stone."**

Aria tensed.

"Ash! You need to stop the battle!" Aria told him.

"Stop? Why?" Ash asked, confused and shocked by what she meant.

"Treeko can't handle a pokemon like that!" She exclaimed.

"Aria's right, Ash! Treeko reached its limit!" Brock agreed.

"We're not giving up like that!" Ash said before turning back to the battle.

"Don't be crazy!"

"Ash! You have to stop! This isn't you!"

Treeko lunged forward using Pound but Hariyama blocked it and then used Knock Off and whacks Treeko away with lots of damage. Treeko ended up crashing into the wall nearby and knocked it out.

"That was a great battle Ash," Brawly said. "But you should get Treeko to the Pokemon Center, right away."

Ash growled under his breath after losing his battle to Brawly.

* * *

Once they got to the Pokemon Center, Nurse Joy had checked Treeko up and let it rest in one of the rooms.

"Nurse Joy," Ash started, keeping his voice low. "Is Treeko okay?"

"Physically Treeko is okay. But forcing a pokemon to battle this hard, I don't like it at all." She said. "Treeko needs some rest." Nurse Joy walks out of the room, leaving the group alone.

"You know, Nurse Joy is right." May said.

"You just got carried way Ash." Brock added.

"You should always know when to quit." Max said.

Then Ash snapped. "Yeah, what do you guys know about it?"

Max and May gasped in surprise.

"We were so close, so close! And then we...ended up losing to some gym leader who rather be surfing than training!"

**SLAP!**

Everyone gasped from the loud sound that echoed through the room.

Aria had ended up slapping Ash on the cheek in anger, her face filled with so much rage.

"Ash! Don't be that selfish!" Aria yelled at him. Ash's eyes widen in surprise as he placed his hand over his sore cheek. "So what if you lost? It doesn't mater! That means you still have time to train and get better! You're much better than that Ash! And you can't force Treeko to keep on fighting when it looks like it can't handle it anymore!"

"Aria-"

"What if this was Pikachu? How you would feel then if this happened to Pikachu? What would you do then?"

"Aria! Ash! Stop fighting!" Brock told them.

"_Shut up!_" Ash runs out of the room with Pikachu, and left Aria surprised by her own actions.

"Aria! Why did you do that?" May demanded.

She turns to them, her eyes filled with shock.

"I don't know. I just felt so mad and when Ash was talking like that I guess I just burst." She said, frowning. "I'm sorry you all had to hear that. This isn't the first time Ash has acted like this." Then she looked away. "I'm sorry, I need to go apologize to Ash." She leaves the room as the others watched in her both shock and worry.

* * *

"I shouldn't have done that to Treeko." Ash mutters, keeping his head low as he walked through the beach.

"Pika..." Pikachu said quietly.

"I guess, I just wanted..."

"Whoa! Awesome!"

Ash looked up after hearing that familiar voice.

"That's it, again Hariyama!"

Ash past a boulder before spotting Brawly and Hariyama surfing together. But Ash noticed that Hariyama was having trouble keep its balance when being on the surfboard and fell into the water.

"You're a lot heavier from all of the muscle you got from evolving." Brawly explained once they stopped surfing to take a break. "Focus, used the power of the wave to help your legs learn to balance." Ash listened to their conversation for a moment before noticing that they had stopped surfing. But then he ran towards him to see if they could talk.

"Well, if it isn't for the little dude." He said. "So how's your Treeko doing?"

"Treeko's going to be just fine." Ash said.

"That's good. I got to say, I was surprised by that Treeko's spunk. Peace." He was about to head back towards the ocean until Ash stopped him.

"I was wrong when I thought that surfing was just goofing off." Ash said.

"Surfing is a really great way for a heavy pokemon to build up leg strength while gaining an awesome sense of balance at the same time, and having a great time while doing it."

"Now I understand that." Ash kept his head low. "All this time I just thought that you weren't taking training seriously like you should have been."

"Hey dude, it only looks like it's fun but it's still work too." Brawly said with a chuckle.

Aria was walking around, searching for any sign of Ash until she heard a familiar voice. She peeks over rock and saw Ash and Brawly talking to each other.

"This island is full of nature everywhere you look." Brawly said. "The oceans, the mountains, the forest, seems to me playing in nature can turn into some pretty decent training, huh?"

"Playing in nature becomes training?" Ash said confused.

Brawly chuckles again. "Come on Hariyama, let's go play some more." He said before running towards the ocean with his pokemon.

Aria smiled before approaching Ash.

"So he really wasn't goofing off."

Ash looked up, turning around and noticing his sister walking towards him.

"Oh, hey Aria. Listen, I'm sorry that I yelled." He apologized. "I didn't mean for it to happen."

"It's alright Ash, now that we know what's going on we don't have to fight anymore. I should be saying sorry to you though. I'm sorry for hitting you when I got mad." She said. "But hey, that's what siblings do right? They fight, play games, being friends, things like that happen to everyone. Don't forget that you can't force pokemon to do what you want all of the time alright? Treeko was lucky to have a great trainer like you Ash, so I would say that its lucky."

"Thanks Aria, and if it's alright. Can we stay on Dewford Island a bit longer so I can do some training?" He asked.

"Sure Ash, you don't have to ask. I'm sure the others are fine with it too as long as there is no more fighting."

Ash nodded in response.

"Let's go back to the Pokemon Center. The others are getting worried about you." Aria said before running a bit ahead. "Come on!" She encouraged.

Ash smiled, glancing at Pikachu before they ran to catch up to Aria.


	20. Episode XXII: Part I

**Okay! I've got a question to ask all of you! I'm not sure if I can make this possible, but does anyone want Steven to join the others on their journey but looking like he does in Alpha Sapphire and Omega Ruby and not in what he does in this episode (Also a bit young too since he's 25 but if you guys do want him in he'll be 16)? I'm just a bit curious! I was thinking about it for a while...I'm just not sure if I can get it to work out though. I mean...Steven is one of my favorite characters, but I just want to know your guys's opinions on this! ****I wonder what it would be like if Aria and Steven were dating...Er, forget I said that! Don't mind me at all! (But who thinks they should be a couple if he does join them?) ****Anyway, let's get on with the chapter!**

* * *

**Stuck in Granite Cave!  
****Episode 22: Part 1**

**Recap of the last episode**

_"Are you sure this is what you want to do?"_

_Aria nods slowly. "I'm very sure Professor Oak." She said. "Could you send them over? The gym leader uses fighting types right? Then I'll have an advantage if I have the both of them with me."_

_"Alright, if that's what you think is best." Professor Oak said. "Who will you be sending over?"_

_"It'll be Houndoom and Absol." She said, holding up the two poke balls._

_"Okay, I'll go get the others then." He stood up from his seat and walked out of the room for a moment. Aria stares down at the poke balls in her hands._

_"You two will like it in Professor Oak's lab. Besides, Absol, you'll be able to make some new friends there."_

_Professor Oak soon comes back and holds up two poke balls._

_"I have them right here. Let's get them transported." He said._

_Aria nods. "Okay."_

_She placed the poke balls on the transporter and they disappeared in the matter of seconds. Then two other poke balls appeared as she picked them up._

_"I got them professor." She said._

_"And I have Houndoom and Absol right here." Professor Oak replied._

_"Thanks professor."_

_..._

_"Hello? Is anyone in there?" He asked. Then the door suddenly flies open and hits Ash. Lot of people ran out, carrying surfboards and heading towards the beach. Ash was laying on the ground, dizzy from being hit from the door._

_"Those surprise attacks aren't fair." He mutters._

_"Hey dude! It's probably not the best place for you to be taking a nap."_

_Ash looks up before noticing a guy in front of him with bright light blue hair._

_"I know! You see..." He trails off._

_Then Brock started to get all gushy from the girls standing behind the guy._

_"Can I help you with something bro?" The guy asked._

_"Yeah, I'm looking for the gym leader." Ash said._

_"No way, I'm him!" The guy said, pointing at himself. Ash gasped in surprise._

_"Brawly, the gym leader of the Dewford Gym." He greeted. "Are you here to challenge me little man?"_

_"Yeah! I'm Ash from Pallet Town! My sister and I would like to battle you!" He said._

_Aria waved, helping Ash stand up before leaning against his shoulder._

_"My name is Aria. I'm Ash's older sister." She greeted._

_"It's nice to meet you both, but we can't exactly have a battle. You see, right up until yesterday the beach got these narly waves. But today, there's a radical one just off shore! Come back tomorrow." Then he ran off, carrying his surfboard._

_"What just happened?" Aria asked confused._

_"The nerve of that guy!" Ash exclaimed angrily. "And after I got myself hyped up for this battle too! What kind of a gym leader is he?"_

_..._

_Then all of a sudden, Pikachu cried out in surprise when he was pulled away in a net. Everyone gasped in surprise as they saw a boat with a familiar gang of people on board it. Pikachu tried to use Thunderbolt on the net, but it only bounced back and did damage to itself._

_"I love these anti-electrical nets." Meowth said._

_"And the boss is going to love us!" Jessie said, cupping her hands together._

_"The all new shining star top of the Hoenn Region's Team Rocket!" James said._

_"If nothing else, it's a great title!" Meowth added._

_"Hey, who are you crazy dudes anyway?" Brawly demanded._

_Then once again, with the motto. But Meowth cut both Jessie and James off._

_"Enough, we already got that part out!" He said. "And speaking of got, let's get before we don't have Pikachu anymore."_

_"You've got a point." They said in unison._

_The engine starts and they started to get away._

_"Get back here Team Rocket!" Ash demanded aloud._

_"Whoa, you can't steal pokemon like that!" Brawly exclaimed. "Makuhita, help Pikachu now!"_

_Makuhita nods, taking the red surfboard and using his arms to swim faster in the water. Once Makuhita got close, it bumped right into the boat and Pikachu went flying off into the water, still trapped in the net. Ash quickly rushes towards Pikachu and picks it up out of the water. He took Pikachu out of the net before telling it to use Thunderbolt. Pikachu jumps into the air and attacks Team Rocket with its powerful Thunderbolt. The group of fools was sent flying in the sky like they always do._

_"That Pikachu of yours is amazing little dude." Brawly said turning to Ash. "I've never seen a Thunderbolt with so much power."_

_"I guess Pikachu is my number one dude," Ash joked. "So Brawly, will you face me and my sister in a gym battle?"_

_"You know, I guess there are just some things that are meant to happen, huh. You've got it! I accept your battle challenge little man!" Brawly said._

_"Great, thanks!"_

_..._

_"Come on Fearow, get up!" Aria told it._

_"You can do it Machop!" Brawly said._

_Both pokemon slowly got up and were ready to attack once again._

_"Great Fearow! Now use Aerial Ace!"_

_Fearow flew up in the air before flipping backwards and flying towards Machop with quick speed._

_"Hurry Machop, use Karate Chop!"_

_Both pokemon once again made contact with each other and also dealing lots of damage on each other. The crashed once again and this time, both pokemon were knocked out._

_"Both pokemon are unable to battle!"_

_..._

_Aria and Brawling return their two unconscious pokemon to their poke balls. Aria stares at the ground for a moment until she looks up with a smile._

_"This isn't over yet." She said to Brawly. "Let's give it everything we got."_

_"You bet." Brawly replied. "Go Makuhita!"_

_His partner appeared before him, as determined as ever. Then Aria reached for another poke ball and held it out._

_"Alright, come on out Ariados!"_

_The two pokemon stared at each other for a moment, waiting for the battle to begin. But everyone noticed something about Ariados, it had a red ribbon on its antenna. The Ariados was a girl._

_"Wow, is that the pokemon I think it is?" Ash said with a smile._

_"It's the Ariados that Aria used in the Silver Conference!" Max exclaimed._

_"Let the battle begin!"_

_..._

_"You're not that bad Aria." Brawly said to her._

_"Thanks Brawly, you're not that bad either." Then Aria grinned again. "But I wouldn't underestimate Ariados."_

_"I must say, your Ariados is fast." He added. "I've never met a pokemon that fast before."_

_"Well, I've been training Ariados for a long time when she was just a small Spinarak. Speaking about that, let's test a few things out." She held out her hand. "Ariados, use Attract!"_

_Brawly's eyes widen. "Attract!?"_

_Hearts surrounded Ariados before they flew towards Makuhita and hits it. Makuhita's eyes turn into hearts as it fell into the attract._

_..._

_"Makuhita is unable to battle! The winner is Aria Ketchum from Pallet Town!"_

_Aria's eyes widen before she ran over to Ariados and hugged her. "You did great Ariados." She told her. "I'm glad that you were here."_

_"Aria, great job!" Ash praised._

_She looks over at him, a small smile spreads on her lips. "Thanks Ash! I couldn't have done it without all of your help from all of the training!" She said to him._

_"Aria, that was such a great battle." Brawly said approaching her._

_"Thanks Brawly." She said._

_"Here, you deserve this." He hands her a badge. "This is the Knuckle Badges, it shows that you beat me in a Pokemon Battle."_

_"Wow, I can't believe we did it." She said in disbelief._

_"You've earned it Aria."_

_..._

_"Ash! You need to stop the battle!" Aria told him._

_"Stop? Why?" Ash asked, confused and shocked by what she meant._

_"Treeko can't handle a pokemon like that!" She exclaimed._

_"Aria's right, Ash! Treeko reached its limit!" Brock agreed._

_"We're not giving up like that!" Ash said before turning back to the battle._

_"Don't be crazy!"_

_"Ash! You have to stop! This isn't you!"_

_Treeko lunged forward using Pound but Hariyama blocked it and then used Knock Off and whacks Treeko away with lots of damage. Treeko ended up crashing into the wall nearby and knocked it out._

_"That was a great battle Ash," Brawly said. "But you should get Treeko to the Pokemon Center, right away."_

_Ash growled under his breath after losing his battle to Brawly._

_..._

_"You know, Nurse Joy is right." May said._

_"You just got carried way Ash." Brock added._

_"You should always know when to quit." Max said._

_Then Ash snapped. "Yeah, what do you guys know about it?"_

_Max and May gasped in surprise._

_"We were so close, so close! And then we...ended up losing to some gym leader who rather be surfing than training!"_

_SLAP!_

_Everyone gasped from the loud sound that echoed through the room._

_Aria had ended up slapping Ash on the cheek in anger, her face filled with so much rage._

_"Ash! Don't be that selfish!" Aria yelled at him. Ash's eyes widen in surprise as he placed his hand over his sore cheek. "So what if you lost? It doesn't mater! That means you still have time to train and get better! You're much better than that Ash! And you can't force Treeko to keep on fighting when it looks like it can't handle it anymore!"_

_"Aria-"_

_"What if this was Pikachu? How you would feel then if this happened to Pikachu? What would you do then?"_

_"Aria! Ash! Stop fighting!" Brock told them._

_"Shut up!" Ash runs out of the room with Pikachu, and left Aria surprised by her own actions._

_"Aria! Why did you do that?" May demanded._

_She turns to them, her eyes filled with shock._

_"I don't know. I just felt so mad and when Ash was talking like that I guess I just burst." She said, frowning. "I'm sorry you all had to hear that. This isn't the first time Ash has acted like this." Then she looked away. "I'm sorry, I need to go apologize to Ash." She leaves the room as the others watched in her both shock and worry._

_..._

_"Well, if it isn't for the little dude." He said. "So how's your Treeko doing?"_

_"Treeko's going to be just fine." Ash said._

_"That's good. I got to say, I was surprised by that Treeko's spunk. Peace." He was about to head back towards the ocean until Ash stopped him._

_"I was wrong when I thought that surfing was just goofing off." Ash said._

_"Surfing is a really great way for a heavy pokemon to build up leg strength while gaining an awesome sense of balance at the same time, and having a great time while doing it."_

_"Now I understand that." Ash kept his head low. "All this time I just thought that you weren't taking training seriously like you should have been."_

_"Hey dude, it only looks like it's fun but it's still work too." Brawly said with a chuckle._

_..._

_"Oh, hey Aria. Listen, I'm sorry that I yelled." He apologized. "I didn't mean for it to happen."_

_"It's alright Ash, now that we know what's going on we don't have to fight anymore. I should be saying sorry to you though. I'm sorry for hitting you when I got mad." She said. "But hey, that's what siblings do right? They fight, play games, being friends, things like that happen to everyone. Don't forget that you can't force pokemon to do what you want all of the time alright? Treeko was lucky to have a great trainer like you Ash, so I would say that its lucky."_

_"Thanks Aria, and if it's alright. Can we stay on Dewford Island a bit longer so I can do some training?" He asked._

_"Sure Ash, you don't have to ask. I'm sure the others are fine with it too as long as there is no more fighting."_

_Ash nodded in response._

_"Let's go back to the Pokemon Center. The others are getting worried about you." Aria said before running a bit ahead. "Come on!" She encouraged._

_Ash smiled, glancing at Pikachu before they ran to catch up to Aria._

* * *

"This is it! The Granite Cave!" Max exclaimed when they reached the entrance of the cave.

"It's huge. Look at that opening." Ash commented.

"And somewhere inside Steven must be hunting for those rare rocks." May added.

"Let's go inside and try to find him." Brock suggested. "Mr. Stone said he would be a good person for us to know."

"This is great, I'm all set for my battle with him." Aria said with a smile before looking over at Ash. "He probably knows where you can train for the Gym Battle with Brawly."

"Max, can you tell if there are creepy things inside of the cave?" May asked.

"The Pokenav doesn't give out information like that." He said.

"Well, let's go check it out for ourselves." Ash said, pointing at the cave.

"Let's just not get separated." Aria told the group as they entered the cave.

* * *

**A kid from pallet town with a brand new world to see**

**I don't know what's ahead but it won't get the best of me**

**There's so much to learn and battles to be won**

**I've advanced so far and still there's always more to come**

**Take a step and I'm on my way gonna start all over again**

**I want to be hero (hero!)**

**Pokemon advance**

**I wanna be a hero (hero!)**

**Give it just one chance**

**And the future will decide**

**If there's a hero buried deep inside**

**I wanna be a hero!**

**Pokemon!**

* * *

"Wow, these cave seems to go on forever." May pointed out.

"Yeah, kind of like you do sometimes..." Max said.

"Steven!" Ash called, his voice echoing in the cave. "Are you in this cave? Steven!"

No replies.

Brock runs past everyone and stops at two paths that lead into a different direction. He placed something on the wall, leaving everyone curious.

"What's that you're putting on the wall, Brock?" Ash asked.

"They're markers," He said. "If we're lost, we'll have to follow the arrows and we'll find our way out of here. And they're perfect for a cave because they glow in the dark."

"That's planning ahead." May commented.

Then Ash continued to call out if hopes of Steven hearing it.

* * *

In the cave, farther away a young teenage boy ran his hand through the rock in hopes of finding the stone he was looking for. Sadly, nothing was located there. He turned to the side and looked at his Aron.

"Any luck Aron?" He asked.

"Ar-on." It spoke, shaking its head.

"Really? You didn't find anything?" He kneels down, opening his bag and holding out a small box. "Well, let's eat."

Aron smiled and the boy held out his hand full of pokemon food. Aron ate it as the boy looked up, glancing back at the rock he was looking at earlier. "We'll have to find a new spot."

* * *

"This place is beautiful." May said once they reached an area in the cave where there was an opening of light.

"Yeah, I've never seen anything like it-"

The ground below them gave out and they fall into the hole.

"How did we not see that hole?" Brock groaned.

"Ouch." Aria winced, touching her ankle. She flinched and pulled her hand away from it.

Then a familiar laughed began to echo through the cave. The group looked up before spotting the familiar group of three.

"Team Rocket!" May exclaimed.

"Ha ha! You fell for it!" They taunted.

But the ground began to shake and crack. Everyone perked up, wondering what that sound was. That was, until the ground gave out beneath them once more but this time taking Team Rocket with them.

The same boy that was looking for the stone heard it as well, standing up and surprised by the sudden noise.

The group was falling into another hole, but this one was different. They didn't realize it, but they started to fall into different tunnels that separated them from each other.

Aria landed roughly on the ground and dirt covered her whole body. She dug herself out and she took a deep breath.

"What was that?" She questioned, wincing. "Where is everyone?"

The dirt started to shake and a familiar yellow mouse stuck its head out of the dirt.

"Pikachu!" Aria sighed with relief. "Thank goodness. At least you're okay."

Another head pops out of the dirt and Aria and Pikachu glare at him.

"Does that mean you're not happy to see me?" The talking Meowth asked.

"No, I'm very happy to see you." Aria said sarcastically, shaking her head. "We're not! Now look what you got us into!"

"Pika!" Pikachu agreed, growling quietly.

"Hey! Why is it my fault!?" Meowth exclaimed.

"That's because it is your fault!" Aria said, pulling herself out of the dirt. She stood up, dusting herself off. "How are we suppose to-" Aria cursed under her breath, falling onto the ground and clutching her ankle. Pikachu reacted, running over to her and looked at her with a concerned look.

"I'll be fine Pikachu." She assured. "But I think I sprained my ankle during that first fall. The second one didn't make it better either." She sat down, still clutching her ankle. She takes off her bag with her free hand and and searches for the bandages. Once she found them, she wrapped them around her ankle and flinched from the sudden pain. "This is great." She murmured. "Now how am I going to find the others with this?" She sighed, using the wall to stand up. "Well, should we get going and search for the others? I should be able to walk, but I'm going to be a little slow."

Pikachu looked at her worried.

"Don't worry Pikachu." She told the pokemon. "I'll be using the wall to keep my balance in case if I fall." She looked out towards the dark cave and frowned. "Ash, where are you?"


	21. Episode XXII: Part II

**Searching for Steven Stone  
****Episode 22: Part 2**

Aria was lagging behind in the group. Her ankle felt like it it was burning and ready to fall off at any moment. It hurt. It hurts so much that she just wants to cut her own foot off.

_I need to keep going._ She told herself. _I have to find Ash, the others, and Steven. They must be in danger._

Aria felt her ankle slip underneath and she fell onto the ground. Pikachu and Meowth turn around and found the young trainer on the ground.

"Pika!" Pikachu rushed over to her and slowly she sat up.

"I'm okay," She assured. "I just overdid it a bit."

Pikachu's ears then twitched as he started to walk around, sniffing the air.

"What is it Pikachu?" Aria asked.

Meowth took a step forward, smelling the air as well.

"It seems like fresh air." He said.

"But where?" Aria asked.

"Down this tunnel." Meowth said once Pikachu moved towards it.

"Pika, Pikachu." Pikachu said before looking at Aria.

"I'm not sure how much farther I can go with this ankle. But maybe I can get one of my pokemon to help us." Aria reached into her bag and took out a poke ball. "Come on out Absol." Absol appeared before her with a worried look on its face. "I'll be okay Absol. But I need your help so that I can walk a bit faster than I did before, alright?"

Absol nodded, moving a bit closer to Aria to help her to stand up. She placed her hands on his back and she lifted herself off the ground. She nearly fell again, but Absol caught her in time before she fell onto the ground.

"Thank you, Absol." She said before they began to head towards the tunnel.

Pikachu and Meowth started to lead them to where they were able to smell the fresh air. A couple minutes later, Aria could see a waterfall in the distance. It was an underground waterfall. That's why they were able to smell the fresh air.

"The breeze smell is coming from over there." Meowth said, pointing at the top of the waterfall.

"So it must lead out to the sea then. If we climb that we'll be able to get out of here and look for the others. We'll have to use those vines to climb it." Aria said, pointing at the roots that were growing on the side of the wall next to the waterfall. "But I'm not sure if I'll last a couple of minutes before falling. This ankle is going to help much."

"Pika, Pikachu!" Pikachu pointed at her bag. Aria then realized what Pikachu was trying to tell her.

"Great idea, Pikachu! Absol, return." She returns Absol to its poke ball before calling out another pokemon that appeared at the top of the waterfall. "Ivysaur, can you use Vine Whip to help me get up to the top?"

"Ivysaur!" It spoke before it lower it vines to where Aria was and wrapped around her waist.

"Thanks Ivysaur!" She called before she placed her non injured foot on a root before she began to climb up it. Pikachu and Meowth soon enough started to follow after Aria. Her ankle was burning with pain. Every time she took a step on it, she winced.

"Hold up." Aria said, gripping tightly on one of the roots. "My ankle really hurts."

"Don't tell me you're going to give up already!" Meowth exclaimed. "I hate it when you kids keep complaining."

"Of course I'm not! I need to find the others before its too late!" Aria snapped, clutching her leg.

"Jessie and James are always complaining about things!" Meowth said, resting on one of the roots. "That's right! They complain and ask for my help at the end. Team Rocket wouldn't work out so well without me in it!"

Aria rolled her eyes, and continued to climb on the roots with Pikachu following behind her. Meowth didn't realize he was talking to himself and that the other two had gone on ahead without him.

"Hey!" He snapped before following after them.

Once they got to the top, Aria called back Ivysaur and brought out Absol once more. They headed down the path for a couple of minutes, until they ended up in a new area. The trio looks up and noticed a large opening in the cave.

"This is where the breeze was coming from." Meowth said. "But how are we suppose to climb up those walls?"

"Pika?" Pikachu began to sniff at the area, confusing the others. Even Absol was starting to smell something as well.

"What is it you guys?" Aria asked.

"Pikachu and Absol said someone came down this tunnel and headed down that way." Meowth translated.

"Could it be Steven? He must have figured something out when we all got separated." Aria said, looking down the tunnel that Pikachu was pointing at. "Let's go find him. Pikachu, Absol, can you locate him?"

The pokemon nods and started to walk in a direction. Aria slowly made her way with Absol and the pain only grew worse and worse by the minute. Aria takes one step forward and her foot gave out on her, causing her to fall. Absol quickly reacted and caught her with its back.

Meowth and Pikachu come to a stop, turning around to face Aria.

"I'm sorry. I can't keep walking." She said. "My ankle feels like I placed it in molting lava."

"Pika..." Pikachu walks over to her and nuzzles his head on her non-injured leg.

"Don't worry Pikachu. We'll find the others soon." Aria assured.

Everyone's head perks up when they heard footsteps echo through the tunnel. Aria slowly stood up and they all look down the tunnel. They saw a shadow walking in their direction before he was revealed as a silver haired boy.

Aria smiled after realizing who it could be.

"Steven."

* * *

**Alright, now that that's done with, I have some news, so good news, not bad news. For the next chapter, this will all come down to if Steven should join them on their journey or not. And even if Aria and Steven should be dating. So, I created a poll on my profile that will allow you guys to choose what you guys want to happen in the story. The next chapter will reveal it all, so I'll see you guys until then. Bye!**


	22. Episode XXII: Part III

**Well, all of the votes are in! And now, on with the chapter! Sorry if you guys didn't get the vote you wanted, but there were other people were wanting things different or wanted it the same, so without further ado, let's get on with this chapter!**

**Also, for some strange reason, the site I was using to watch the episodes is no longer up for some reason... Odd, it was working a couple of hours ago...**

**Well, anyway, bye!**

* * *

**Calming the Aron  
****Episode 22: Part 3**

Steven runs over to them and looks at everyone.

"It seems like we finally caught up to you." He said.

"Yeah. Things aren't going so well." Aria said. "You're Steven right?"

Steven nods. "That's me."

"We need your help Steven," Aria said. "I got separated from my brother and friends, and we can't find them."

"Hey, what about my friends!" Meowth exclaimed.

"Ah, so that's why the Aron are so agitated." Steven said.

"Aron?" Aria said confused.

"There are wild Aron living in this cave, and they've been making noises like something's bothering them. Your friends could be in danger if you don't move fast."

Aria's eyes widen.

"Do you know where they are?" She asked.

"I'm not sure, but if we look for the Aron, they would probably lead us to them." Steven starts to run, but Aria calls him back. "What is it?" He asked.

"I can't run." She said. "When I got separated from the others, I fell and sprained my ankle."

Steven's eyes widen, and he runs back over to them. He places Aria's arm over her shoulder, placing his one arm on her back, and another to keep her balanced so she wouldn't fall.

"Is that better?" He asked when they took steps forward.

"Yeah, thanks Steven." She said.

Steven nods and they picked up the pace a bit. The pokemon follow from behind them.

"Do you know you're way around the cave?" Aria asked.

"I've been exploring these caves for months, so I know them inside out." Steven said.

Meowth gasped and they came to a stop once they reached the end of the path. It seemed to continued, but the rest of it must have collapsed.

"Why did you take us here?!" He exclaimed. "We can't get across this!"

Aria winced, getting right on her knees to grip her ankle. Steven kneels down beside her, worried.

"I'm okay." She assured. "I just put to much pressure on it. That's all."

Steven nods and looks down the hole. "Just take a look down there guys." Steven said.

Everyone looked over, peeking down at the whole. Then, they started to hear footsteps approaching the area. Aria's heart pounded as she wondered if it was Ash and the others. Then, when she saw people run by, she quickly puts her hands up to her mouth and called out her brother's name.

His head perked up as they all come to a stop and turning around to look up at them.

"Hey! It's Aria!" Ash pointed out.

"And Meowth!" Jessie pointed out.

"You guys okay?" Ash asked.

"We're just fine." Aria replied.

The group glanced down and saw the large group of Aron running towards them.

"Oh no! What's that!?" James exclaimed.

"Settle down and listen to me." Steven said to them. "Keep moving forward, then turn go right. Turn left at the next corner, you'll find a waterfall. That's where we'll meet up."

Ash nods. "Okay!"

They started to run down the path and the group above saw all of the Aron that were chasing after them.

"Did you know they were coming this way?" Aria asked.

"No, but I had a feeling the Aron would." Steven stood up and glanced at his pokemon. "Let's go Aron."

"Aron!" It spoke.

"Get on my back Aria. It's the quickest way to catch up to your friends." Steven said to her.

Aria nods, standing up and climbed onto his back with his help. The pokemon grab onto his legs and arms and Steven jumped off the path and onto the other. He lands on his hands and feet. Aria was about to get off, but Steven stopped her.

"I'm going to carry you there," He said. "We'll get there much quicker."

They run down the tunnel and head towards where the waterfall was. Once they got there, they spotted the others backing away from the Aron that were charging towards them.

"Aron stop! Be calm!" Steven's voice echoed through the cave.

But they didn't listen, they kept on going towards them.

"It didn't work!" Brock exclaimed.

"It's all over!" May cried.

"Go Aron, Roar!" Steven commanded.

Aron took a step forward, and let out a large roar. It meet all of the ears of the Aron and May screamed, waiting for them to attack, until everything fell into silence. They all stood there looking at the Aron that had stopped moving and were calm. Steven smiled.

"These are good people," He said. "Go back to your roots, it's okay."

The Aron perked up and began to head back into the cave.

"How did you do that?" Aria asked.

"Aron are very calm pokemon. They were just startled, that's all." Steven said. "Alright, let's head down there."

_Moments Later..._

Meowth, Jessie, and James were hugging each other, crying tears of joy. Everyone was confused by this, even Aria was surprised.

"James, I thought you didn't like them." Ash said.

"You too Jessie." May said.

"And you Meowth." Aria said.

"Hey, let's recite the motto to celebrate." Jessie suggested.

Steven blinked. "Who are these people?"

"People who steal pokemon, that's for sure." Aria said.

And they started their motto again, seriously, how long does it take them to understand that it's getting annoying?

"Steven, those three are Team Rocket." Ash said.

"They're the ones to blame for the hole." Brock added.

Team Rocket sends our their pokemon, and the others started to attack as well.

"HOLD ON!"

Everyone froze, glancing at Steven with a shocked and confused look.

"Steven...?" Aria questioned, still holding her poke ball in her hand.

"The pokemon is this cave have all lived her peacefully for generations." Steven said angrily.

"..." Aria had no words.

"Does it look like he could be angry?" Jessie whispered to James. James nodded. Steven continued.

"Then you come in creating problems and stir them all up. It's just wrong. I'll face you." Everyone gasped. "I choose you Aggron!"

Aria's eyes widen in surprise when she the large pokemon emerge, standing tall and proud.

"Whoa..." She murmured. "It's huge."

Ash took out his pokedex to find more out about this pokemon.

**"Aggron, the Iron Armor Pokémon. Aggron is the final evolution of Aron. It shows no mercy to anyone who disturbs its habitat."**

"You're right! He was angry!" James exclaimed.

"Hyper Beam!"

The blast launched them right out of the cave, leaving a large hole of light.

"Good work Aggron." Steven said before returning it to its poke ball.

"Mr. Stone was right." Brock said.

"He's good." Max commented.

"Wow..." Was Aria's only response.

Steven's Aron began to dig through the dirt for a moment before spotting something. He looked over at his trainer, calling him over.

"What's the matter, Aron?" He asked, kneeling down.

He looks carefully before noticing something. "Ah! Okay!" He said, pulling the stone he saw. "Great job, Aron." He praised his pokemon.

"Steven! What is that?" Ash asked.

"A fire stone!" He said, holding it out so everyone could see it. "This is what I've been searching for for so long."

"A fire stone?" May said confused.

"Yes, it's one of several stones that help pokemon when it's time to evolve." Steven explained. "It can be used to help a Growlithe into an Arcanine."

"Or help Vulpix evolve into Ninetails." Brock added.

"And an Eevee into a Flareon." Aria and Max said in unison.

"Yep, that's correct." Steven said, standing up.

"Thanks for helping us all out when we needed it Steven." Ash said.

"Nah, it was no problem at all." He said. "I should thank you for helping me find this fire stone. By the way, how's my father doing?"

"He's just fine, and he really helped me and Aria out a lot." Max said.

Steven smiled, "That's good."

* * *

"Are you ready for your battle, Aria?" Max asked.

"All set, I decided I needed to call Professor Oak for some help with this battle before we headed to the cave. Now that I know Steven has an Aggron, I'm all set." She said, adjusting the gloves on her hands.

"Alright, I'm back," Steven's voice entered their ears as they all stood up. "I just finished pack up all of my stuff, so I should be off." He said.

"Hold on Steven!" Aria said, approaching him.

"Huh? What is it, Aria?" He asked. "How's your ankle?"

"I'm just fine, I can walk on it normally now." She said.

"That's good to hear." He said, smiling. Aria nodded.

"I was talking to your father back in Rustboro City, and he suggested that I should have a battle with you, I've been practicing since, and I was wondering if you want to battle."

Steven stared at her for a moment before he grinned. "Alright, I'll be fine with that."

Everyone's face lit up with a smile.

"You two are really going to battle!?" Ash asked surprised.

"Yep." They said in unison.

"But," Steven then added. "I want this to be a double battle."

"A double battle?" May said confused.

"Basically a battle using two pokemon at the same time." Max explained, sighing that his sister didn't know what a double battle was.

"Double battle sounds fair. How many pokemon are we going to be using?" Aria asked. "I have six pokemon with my currently."

"And so do I. So this will be a six on six battle." Steven said.

"I guess so," Aria grinned as well. "I'm all set."


	23. Episode XXII: Part IV

**GAH! UPDATES ARE KILLING ME! I'VE BEEN TAKING TOO LONG TO WORK ON THIS CHAPTER! WHY DO I DO THIS TO YOU GUYS!? I FEEL SO BAD FOR MAKING YOU WAIT FOR SOOOO LONG!**

***sigh* Sorry that I haven't updated in a while. This double battle is much harder to write than I thought it would be. Next time I'll be prepared to do one when I have to. :P**

***sigh* It's the end of the episode, let's just get this over with so I don't have to keep yell at myself about this being late again. :D**

* * *

**Double Battle Between Aria and Steven!  
****Episode 22: Part 4**

"Is Aria planning on using her other pokemon like she did for her gym battle?" May asked.

"She did say she talked to Professor Oak about her pokemon, so that could be true..." Max said, getting a bit excited for the battle to start.

"Not only that, Aria has been preparing for this." Ash said.

"The battle between Aria and Steven will now be under way! Each trainer is to use two pokemon and until all of their pokemon is defeated, the winner will be decided in the end! Both trainers are able to substitute pokemon freely!" Brock said. "Begin!"

Steven and Aria pull out a poke ball and called out their pokemon. Steven had called out an Armaldo and Cradily, and Aria had a Farfetch'd and Houndoom.

"What's that pokmeon?" May asked, taking out her pokedex.

"It's a Armaldo and a Farfetch'd!" Max cried, surprised.

**"Armaldo, the Plate Pokémon. Armaldo can withstand any attack with its hard shell. It is thought to have been able to break even stones with its powerful claws."**

**"Cradily, the Barnacle Pokémon. Cradily is believed to be able to extend its tree branch-like neck and catch prey with its tentacles."**

**"Farfetch'd, a Wild Duck Pokemon. Farfetch'd makes delicious meal, especially when cooked with leek, because of this, Farfetch'd is nearly extinct."**

"Is this Aria's strategy?" Max asked. "Why would she choice Farfetch'd? It's weak to rock types. Even Houndoom is weak to it too!"

"Houndoom is fast, so she must have something planned." Ash said. "After all, that Fartech'd she has is special."

"Special?" May said confused. Ash smirked at her response.

"You'll see." He said.

"Pika," Pikachu said, agreeing with him.

"An Armaldo and Cradily." Aria murmured to herself. "It's a good thing Mr. Stones warned me about him having two fossil pokemon."

Steven looked at Aria's two pokemon, and grew curious.

"That's an interesting choice of pokemon you picked there, Aria." He said. "I'm guessing you have an idea on how to beat these two."

Aria chucked to herself. "Of course! These two know what they're doing, and so do I. Even if they are weak to rock type pokemon, there's always a way to win." She said. "You can attack first."

"Alright. Armaldo, use Water Gun on Houndoom!" Steven yelled.

Armaldo opened its mouth, and spit water out. Aria knew this was going to happen.

"Fartech'd, use your leak!" She commanded.

Fartech'd dashed in front of Houndoom and spun its leak, causing the Water Gun to stop.

"That Fartech'd is super fast!" Max exclaimed. "It's just like Ariados!"

"That's because Fartech'd and all of Aria's pokemon are based on speed." Ash explained.

"Speed? Why?" May asked.

"Back then when we started our journey together, Aria trained her pokemon's movement faster so that they can dodge easier. Fartech'd and Ariados were one of those pokemon."

"That's incredible!" Max commented. "I didn't Aria would have pokemon like that!"

"Impressive move there Aria," Steven said. "You're pokemon are indeed fast, but let's see if they can handle this! Cradily, Constrict!"

"Houndoom, grab Fartech'd and jump in the air!" Aria yelled.

Houndoom grabs Fartech'd by the back and jumped in the air, dodging Cradily's attack.

"Perfect," Steven said with a grin, causing Aria to gasp. "Armaldo use Ancient Power!"

Armaldo launched the attack right at them, getting a direct hit.

"Houndoom! Fartech'd!" Aria cried as the pokemon roughly hit the ground. "Get up you two! You can do it!"

The two pokemon slowly stood up, relief filled Aria.

"Great! Houndoom, use Flamethrower!" She commanded.

Houndoom launched its attack right at the two.

"X-Scissor Armaldo!" Steven yelled.

Armaldo attacks and cuts the Flamethrower in half, ad Aria gasped.

"How?!" She exclaimed surprised.

"It's quite simple to stop an attack before it strikes. You should know that." Steven said, grinning.

Aria's face was filled with horror. She shook her head and looked at her pokemon.

"Armaldo use Slash on Houndoom!" Steven commanded.

_What am I going to do?_ Aria thought. _Every time I make a move, they're always there!_

She stared at Armaldo's movement before an idea came to mind. She remembered what Steven did to calm the Aron down back in the cave, now she knew what she can do to win!

_That's it!_

"Houndoom, use Roar!" She said.

Houndoom took a step forward, and roared as loud as he could. Armaldo came to a stop and Steven looked surprised.

"Fartech'd, now! Night Slash!" She said.

Steven looked over and spotted Fartech'd high in the sky, coming down at Cradily.

"Cradily, dodge it!" He told the pokemon.

It was too late, Fartech'd was too fast and attacked Cradily with full power. They crashed onto the ground, dust rising up from the ground.

"Cradily!" Steven cried.

"Fartech'd!" Aria cried as well.

The dust disappeared, leaving two fainted pokemon on the ground.

"Cradily and Fartech'd are unable to battle!" Brock announced.

Steven and Aria return their two pokemon to their poke balls, and reached for another.

"I don't get it. How did Fartech'd lose so quickly?" Max asked.

"He used all of his strength to do that much damage to Cradily." Ash said. "No wonder why it lost that fast."

"Come on out Skarmory!" Steven said.

"It's your turn now Sharpedo!" Sharpedo appeared in the water, his head popping out.

"Sharpedo!" It spoke with glee.

"Wow, I didn't think Aria would use Sharpedo." May said.

"And Armaldo is weak to water types, so she has an advantage there." Max added.

"Houndoom use Flamethrower!" Aria commanded.

Houndoom fired, but Armaldo dodged it.

"Skarmory, use Steel Wing!" Steven yelled.

Skarmory's wings glowed and charged towards Houndoom.

"Get out of there Houndoom!" Aria cried. It was too late, Skarmory had already contacted with Houndoom, causing it to skid across the sand. "Houndoom!"

Houndoom tried to stand up, but only fell onto the ground.

"Houndoom is unable to battle!" Brock announced.

Aria returned Houndoom to its poke ball and she started to get worried.

_Houndoom was going to be one of the pokemon I was going to use the most for my strategy._ She thought. _Steven's pokemon are really strong and powerful. How am I going to do this? If I use Ivysaur, I might have a bit of an advantage since Ivysaur can handle powerful attacks, but at the same time, Skarmory can use flying type moves, so what choice do I have?_

She pulled out a poke ball, taking a deep breath.

"I choose you, Misdreavus!" She said as the ghost pokemon appeared.

"Wow! A Misdreavus!" Max exclaimed happily.

May took out her pokedex to figure more out about the pokemon.

**"Misdreavus, the Screech Pokémon. Misdreavus are extremely mischievous and like to cry out at night just to startle people."**

"Misdreavus is a ghost type, so ground type moves won't have an effect!" Ash said.

"Wow, Aria really thought hard about this battle." May commented.

"Misdreavus, use Shadow Ball!" Aria commanded.

Misdreavus launched the attack, and headed straight at Armaldo, getting a direct hit.

"I must say, you really know what you're doing." Steven said with a chuckle. He held up a poke ball, pointing it at Armaldo. "Armaldo, return." Once Armaldo was gone, he pulled out another poke ball, calling out an even larger pokemon. Aria gasped, surprised when she saw the silver metal pokemon before her.

"What is that?" She whispered, taking out her pokedex.

**"Metagross, the Iron Leg Pokémon. With its four brains, it has an intelligence rivaling a supercomputer."**

"Wow...but it's a different color." Aria shook her head. "Sharpedo, use Night Slash!" She commanded.

Sharpedo jumps out of the water and towards Skarmory, close to hitting it, but Skarmory flew higher into the sky, causing the pokemon to miss.

"W-what!?" Aria exclaimed shocked.

"Metagross, use Psychic!" Steven commanded.

Metagross's eyes glowed, and Sharpedo was lifted out of the water, causing Aria to gasp in fear.

"Misdreavus, Confuse Ray!" Aria yelled.

Metagross was confused and dropped Sharpedo back into the water.

"Skarmory, use Agility!" Steven commanded.

Skarmory flew in towards Misdreavus.

"Now Peck!"

"Misdreavus, dodge it!" Aria yelled.

"Too late!"

Skarmory hit Misdreavus, sending it to the ground.

"Misdreavus!" Aria cried out, seeing the pokemon struggle to get up. She looked over at her other pokemon, knowing she needed to come up with something. "Sharpedo, use Slash!"

Sharpedo swam through the water, jumping out until Skarmory moved out of the way once more, causing Sharpedo to miss.

Metagross was still trying to get out of the confusion, but nothing was snapping it out of it, it was hurting itself.

"Skarmory, use Steel Wing on Metagross!" Steven commanded.

"What?" Aria mumbled confused, wondering why Steven was making his own pokemon attack his other one. Skarmory attacked on command and Aria noticed it right away. By attacking Metagross, it snapped it out of the confusion and Aria grits her teeth together. She watched Skarmory's movement before she realized something.

"Misdreavus, use Shadow Ball and launch it into the sky!" Misdreavus didn't need to be told twice and launched it high up in the air. "Sharpedo, go after it!"

Sharpedo jumped out of the water, heading towards the Shadow Ball. Steven was so confused by what she was doing, surprised by Aria's actions.

"Now bite it!" Aria commanded. Sharpedo bites onto it with its teeth and Aria noticed that Sharpedo's teeth had become all dark purple.

"What the... What did she do?" Ash asked shocked.

"Sharpedo ate it!" Max exclaimed.

"Misdreavus, Psychic!" Aria commanded, looking straight at Skarmory. Misdreavus stopped Skarmory from moving anywhere. "Sharpedo, quickly! Ice Fang!"

Sharpedo's teeth turned into ice, but it wasn't a crystal blue. It was a blackish purple that glowed from the Ice Fang. Everyone but Steven and Aria watched in awe.

"Do it Sharpedo!" Aria commanded.

Sharpedo headed down towards Skarmory who was still trapped in Psychic.

"Metagross, help Skarmory!" Steven commanded. "Use Hyper Beam!"

Metagross started to charge up the attack.

"Too late!" Aria said, causing Steven to gasp quietly. "Misdreavus Psybeam!"

Misdreavus fired the bright attack just as Sharpedo's attack met with Skarmory's back, the two pokemon dealing a lot of damage on Skarmory.

Skarmory hits the ground, knocked out of the battle. But once it touched the ground, Metagross launched the Hyper Beam, hitting Sharpedo who was nearly close to landing back in the water.

"Sharpedo!" Aria cried out once Sharpedo's body fell into the water. She noticed bubbles forming before the pokemon got to the surface, but was knocked unconscious.

"Sharpedo and Skarmory are unable to battle!" Brock announced.

Steven and Aria returned the two tired pokemon to their poke balls before they pulled out another one.

"Mawile, go!" Steven said throwing the poke ball.

"Go Ivysaur!" Aria said, throwing her poke ball as well.

The two pokemon appeared, the look of determination in their eyes.

"Misdreavus, use Payback on Metagross!" Aria commanded.

Misdreavus headed forward towards the large pokemon.

"Flash Cannon!" Steven shouted.

"Dodge it!"

_No!_ Aria mentally shouted. _I'm rushing myself again! I need to calm down and get my thoughts together!_

Misdreavus cried out in pain once the Flash Cannon hit her. She didn't dodge it in time. Misdreavus crashed onto the ground, marks covering her entire body.

"Misdreavus!" Aria cried out, seeing her pokemon struggle to stand up. "Ivysaur, use Razor Leaf!"

Ivysaur jumped in front of Misdreavus and started to attack Mawile and Metagross. It did damage to Mawile but it just bounced off of Metagross.

_How am I going to do damage to that Metagross?_ She thought to herself. _If I can some how get it distracted, I might have a chance to attack it!_

"Misdreavus, use Shadow Ball on Metagross!" Aria instructed.

A dark ball appeared in front of Misdreavus before she launched it at Metagross.

"Psychic!" Steven commanded. Metagross' eyes glowed blue as it stopped the Shadow Ball and threw it right back.

"Use Psychic too Misdreavus!" Aria told her. Misdreavus' eyes glowed and the Shadow Ball stopped in one place as they tried to send it at one another.

"Ivysaur, use Solar Beam." Aria told the pokemon just as Steven got distracted.

"Mawile, use Bite on Misdreavus!" He instructed.

Mawile ran forward, the jaws that were on the back of its head as it ran towards Misdreavus.

"Throw it down Misdreavus!" Aria commanded.

Misdreavus used all of her strength to hit the place where Mawile was running, causing the sand to cover most of the area.

"Mawile, look for Misdreavus through the sand!" Steven yelled.

Mawile couldn't see a single thing, even the sand was starting to get into its eyes. But it did notice Misdreavus through the sand and started to charge forward once again to attack.

"Ivysaur go for it!" Aria commanded just as Ivysaur was ready to attack. "Solar Beam!"

Ivysaur fired the attack right through the sand, hitting both Mawile and Metagross.

"Mawile! Metagross!" Steven exclaimed.

They found the two pokemon on the ground and panting. Metagross had take some serious damage after being caught in the middle of the attack. He slowly started to stand up, but instantly his feet gave away before he fell onto the ground.

"Metagross!" Steven said with widen eyes.

"Metagross is unable to battle!" Brock announced.

Steven returned Metagross to its poke ball before he brought out another one. He called out Armaldo once more and Aria knew what she had to do.

If I had Sharpedo still, I would have an easier time getting rid of this one. But he is still tired, so I still have a chance.

"Ivysaur, use Leech Seed!" Aria commanded.

Ivysaur nodded and shoot a seed at Armaldo. The seed shot out roots and wrapped around as it started to drain him of his energy.

"Use Fury Cutter on the Leech Seed Armaldo!" Steven instructed. Armaldo's claws glowed white as he quickly cut the roots. Ivysaur couldn't sap Armaldo's energy anymore, so it was a big problem for him.

Aria's eyes widen, their plan that was going perfectly well but now is gone.

"Mawile, use Crunch!" Mawile ran forward and towards Ivysaur, the jaw grabbing onto Ivysaur and lifting him up into the air.

"Ivysaur!" Aria gasped. "Misdreavus, Shadow Ball!"

Misdreavus launched the Shadow Ball, but it Armaldo only jumped in front of Mawile and cut the Shadow Ball in half with X-Scissor.

"Seems like your plan is no longer going to work Aria." Steven said, placing his hand on his hip. "Mawile Sucker Punch!"

Mawile threw Ivysaur into the air and it left him defenseless. Mawile jumped up into the air as well, the jaw glowing a dark purple as it met with Ivysaur's stomach. Mawile slammed him into the ground, causing the sand to spread through the air once again.

"Ivysaur!" Aria cried. She noticed the swirls on his eyes, signally that he was no longer able to battle.

"Ivysaur is unable to battle!" Brock announced.

"Aria's down to her last two pokemon." Ash said, the tension of this battle getting to him. "If she can some how take down Mawile, she should have a chance."

_Not good..._ Aria thought, gritting her teeth together. _Ivysaur was taken down much quicker than I thought. Which means I'm down to my last two. So I'll have to keep using speed as my advantage, if I can some how get rid of Mawile in time._

"Come out, Absol!" Aria's pokemon stood beside Misdreavus. "Absol, run at Mawile!" She instructed.

Absol started to run towards Mawile and Steven was ready to call out a move until he noticed the look in Aria's eyes.

"Misdreavus, use Confuse Ray, quickly!"

Misdreavus' eyes glowed as Mawile was trapped in confusion.

"Armaldo, help Mawile by using Water Gun on Absol!" Steven commanded.

Armaldo nodded and opened his mouth as water launched right at Absol.

"Jump into the air and use Double Team!" Aria told her pokemon.

Absol barely dodged it, jumping into the air as he split off into multiple different Absols.

"Now use Sucker Punch!"

The multiple Absols' right paw glowed purple as they started to head towards Mawile.

"Armaldo, use Rock Blast on all of them!" Steven said to his pokemon.

Armaldo held up his hands and rocks shot out from them as it hit all of the fake Absols except for the real one.

Aria grinned. "Misdreavus, Shadow Ball!"

Misdreavus prepared the attack and launched it right at Mawile. Absol hits Mawile, sending it to the ground. The Shadow Ball just hit Mawile right in the head, causing it to slide across the ground and past by Steven. He turned around to find that Mawile was completely out of it.

"Mawile is unable to battle!" Brock announced.

Steven returned Mawile to its poke ball before he called out his final pokemon. Aggron stood beside Armaldo, staring down at the two small pokemon.

"They're huge." Ash pointed out.

"But isn't Aria's pokemon faster than Steven's? Doesn't she have the advantage there?" Max asked.

"Maybe..."

"Absol, use Quick Attack on Armaldo! Misdreavus, go for a Psywave on Aggron!"

Absol ran forward and Misdreavus launched the attack.

"Keep your place!" Steven instructed his two pokemon.

They stood in the same place before Absol ran into Armaldo but it didn't do any damage to it, neither did Misdreavus' attack.

"Armaldo, use Slash on Absol!" Steven yelled.

Armaldo's claw glowed white, slashing at Absol, dealing a good amount of damage to him. He slid across the ground, but kept his balance.

"Misdreavus, use Shadow Ball on Armaldo!" Aria commanded.

Misdreavus attacked once more.

"Smack it back using Slash!" Steven instructed. Armaldo quickly hits it back towards Misdreavus, the attack moving much faster. Aria's eyes widen.

"Dodge it quickly!" She exclaimed.

Misdreavus didn't have time, it already contacted with her body, dealing a lot of damage since Misdreavus is weak to ghost types. Misdreavus was sent flying in the air, but everyone knew she was out of the battle. Aria caught the small pokemon in her arms, seeing how tired she was.

"Misdreavus is unable to battle!" Brock announced.

Aria took out Misdreavu's poke ball and returned her to it. Absol was her only pokemon left, so it was two against one. She would have to keep using speed to her advantage.

"Absol, use Future Sight!" Aria commanded.

Absol got a small glow over his body until he launched an attack into the sky, leaving everyone confused, except for Steven.

"What was that move?" May asked.

"Future Sight is a move that attacks the opponent after a couple of attacks. It can do some serious damage if the pokemon is exhausted." Max explained.

"Aggron use Rock Slide!" Steven yelled. Rocks appeared from the sky and above Absol.

"Dodge it using Quick Attack!" Aria told her pokemon.

Absol ran faster dodging the rocks with ease.

"Water Gun Armaldo!" Steven commanded.

Armaldo fired the attack, but Absol dodged that as well, jumping above Armaldo.

"Now use Slash!" Absol's head razor glowed as he slashed down at Armaldo, dealing some damage, but not too much. Absol jumped back once Future Sight took its place, falling from the sky and dealing some extra damage to Armaldo and Aggron.

"Use Sucker Punch!" Aria told Absol.

Absol ran forward towards Armaldo, jumping up into the air to get a better advantage.

"Iron Tail Aggron!"

Aggron quickly regained its balance before slashing its tail at Absol, knocking him away from Armaldo.

"Sucker Punch once more!"

Absol ran fowards once again knowing that he would get it this time.

"Use Protect Aggron!" Steven commanded.

Aggron jumped in front of Armaldo and a blue barrier surrounded him. Absol's attack bounced off of the Protect.

"Armaldo, finish this with X-Scissor!" Steven commanded.

"Absol, use Night Slash!"

The two pokemon ran towards each other, the attack meeting all at once. The attack met with one another, causing them to go flying. They landed on the sand, Absol having trouble standing up. Armaldo got right back onto his feet, but Absol was struggling to get up.

"Come on Absol! Please get up!" Aria told it.

Absol tried as best as he could, but he knew he wouldn't last for long. His legs gave out on him and his eyes were cover in swirls.

"Absol!" Aria ran towards her pokemon, kneeling down to him.

"Absol is unable to battle! And the winner is Steven!" Brock announced.

Aria pets Absol's head who was disappointed that they lost.

"It's alright Absol." Aria assured. "We were close, but not close enough. Don't worry about it. You did well."

Steven returned his pokemon to their poke balls and walked towards Aria. He held out his hand and Aria looked up at him.

She takes out Absol's pokemon and returned him to it before taking Steven's hand. With his help, she got back onto her feet.

The others walked over to them and talked to them about the intense battle. Time past by so quickly that they all headed towards the Pokemon Center to get something to eat and sleep.

* * *

Everyone sat at the table, eating dinner. Steven left to call his father to talk to him about the battle while Aria sent some of her pokemon back to Professor Oak. When she was about to head back, she noticed Steven talking to his father.

"Dad, I've made a choice." Steven said.

_"Hmm?"_ Mr. Stone looked curious. _"Well, what is it?"_

"I decided that before come back to the company, I want to go on a pokemon journey again."

_"I see. What gave you that idea?"_ Mr. Stone asked. Steven smiled.

"It was Aria." He said. "When I battled with her, I realized something. If I want to make things last longer, then do what you love is the best option. That's why I want to go back on my journey again, to learn more about this region and all other ones."

_"Well Steven, if that's what you choose, then I'm okay with it."_ Mr. Stone said.

"Thanks Dad." Steven said with a nod.

_"Don't mention, and good luck."_ Mr. Stone hung up and Steven placed the phone back where it belonged.

Aria smiled and walked back to the others, sitting down right beside Max.

"Your battle was amazing Aria." Ash said to her. "You were never that pumped since the Silver Conference."

"I guess so." Aria said smiling. "I sent Fartech'd and Houndoom back to Professor Oak and brought back Electrike. I'm sure they'll be happy."

"What? You sent Houndoom? But what about Misdreavus?" Brock asked.

"Misdreavus and I go way back, remember? I think this is the perfect way to grow stronger with each other, and maybe we'll even become closer friends." Aria said as Misdreavus sat on her shoulder.

"Mis! Mis!" The ghost pokemon spoke.

"Your friendship is beautiful as a Dawn Stone." Steven sat down in a chair next to Ash, and across from Aria, and smiled.

"Thanks Steven," Aria said happily. "So, what did your father say?"

"He was impressed that you almost won, but he wasn't mistake that I was going to win. He knew your pokemon weren't going to be able to handle Aggron or Armaldo." Steven said.

"That sounds like Mr. Stone." Max says with a small laugh.

"So, what are you going to do now, Steven?" Ash asked.

"I've decided to continue my pokemon journey." Steven said. "After battling with Aria, I realized that I should continue do what I love before I go back and work for the company with my father."

"That's sounds great." May encouraged.

"But..." Steven looked at Aria. She was confused, wondering what he was going to say next. He stared at her for a moment before looking at everyone at the table. "If it's alright with all of you, I like to continue my journey with you."

"Really?" Ash said surprised.

"Why not? You all are really nice people. I've never seen so much determination from a person before, especially during a battle." He said, gesturing to Aria. "If it's fine with you at least. I understand if you decline."

"I'm fine with it." Ash said.

"Me too," Max says. "It's great having more friends around."

"I'm fine with it as well." May said.

"I don't see there being a problem, so why not?" Brock said.

Steven glanced to Aria who was still surprised by his news.

"It's just you Aria," He said. "What do you say?"

"Um..." She stood up and everyone looked at her confused. "I...I need a couple of minutes." She walked away, leaving everyone shocked or confused.

"Did I say something wrong?" Steven asked.

"I don't think so..." Ash said. "But there's no way she could be upset about this."

"I'll go talk to her." May standing up and headed outside.

* * *

"Ivysaur..." Ivysaur frowned when he saw Aria sigh, staring down at the water. Sharpedo's head pops out and stares at her concerned.

She was at the harbor, trying to get all of her thoughts together. She was surprised by what Steven said. She didn't think that he would want to continue his journey with them.

"I'm sorry guys..." Aria apologized to her pokemon. She turned around to face all of them. Iyvsuar and Absol standing next to each other, Electrike with Misdreavus sitting on its back. "I just...I'm not sure how to react. I thought he would go on a journey by himself and yet, I couldn't figure out what to say..."

"Aria!" Aria looked up confused, seeing May walking towards her. Once she reached her, May stopped right in front of her, slightly confused. "Hey, is everything alright?" She asked. "We haven't seen you like this before."

"Hi May," Aria said before looking back out at the sea. "I'm fine, I just felt...frozen."

"Frozen? Why?" May asked.

"I don't know..." Aria frowned. "I couldn't find the words to say. I guess you could say I was nervous for no reason."

"Were you surprised? It seemed like it to me that you were just shock that he made such a choice." May said, standing beside her as they watched the sun disappear.

"Maybe that's it. I"m not sure. All I know is that...I'm happy, and maybe I just shocked that I can't speak a single word." Aria chuckled. "Thanks for the company May. I really needed it. Especially from all of you." She said to her and her own pokemon.

May tried to think why Aria was acting like she was nervous back in the Pokemon Center, until a thought came into her head.

"Oh! I see now!" Aria turned around, confused by her actions. "Is it love at first sight?" Aria's face flushed as she looked away from May.

"In love? What could you be talking about? I'm not love!" She exclaimed.

"Oh come on! I know you two like each other!" May added. "Why not?"

"We just met today! How can that be possible?" Aria asked, shaking her head.

"I noticed it back in Granite Cave!" May exclaimed. "You two would be perfect as a couple!"

"MAY!" May jumped in surprise when Aria screamed. Aria laughed at the look on her face. "Look, I'll think about what your planning, so I'll go along with it for now, okay?" May smiled at her response and nodded, understanding Aria's opinion.

The girls heard footsteps behind them, causing them to spin around to find Steven heading towards them. May giggled at Aria and left them to have their own conversation.

"Oh, hi Steven." Aria said, turning around to watch the sea again.

"Hello to you as well." Steven said, standing beside her. "Is everything alright? You left so suddenly that you had everyone worried."

"I'm fine. I didn't mean to worry everyone." Aria looked down at Sharpedo who still had the look of concern. "I guess you could say that I was just nervous." Steven looked at her confused.

"Nervous? You never seem to be nervous. Even Ash said that himself." He said.

"That's because Ash has yet to see me be nervous. I've been nervous before, a bunch of times actually."

"So not everything your brother says is true?" Steven guessed.

"Not exactly." Aria said, earning a glance from Steven. "I really never tell him how I feel when it comes to battling, friendship, or personal things in general. I keep things to myself just so that I don't worry him."

"So that's what it is."

"Huh?" Aria looked at Steven confused. He placed his hands in his pockets, looking out at the sea.

"I noticed that when you battle, you keep thinking about other things while your pokemon battled mine. Then when you suddenly attacked you lost your concentration. There is something on your mind, isn't there?"

"If you knew what it was, then why didn't you mention that during the battle?" Aria asked, surprised that he figured it out.

"I wanted to see how you would do once the battle was over. Turns out, my speculations were correct." He said. "If there's something on your mind you should tell the others or me. I'm sure they'll understand if you tell them."

"Well, the thing is, is that I rather solve those problems on my own. They're not too much of a problem, I just get caught on them and it distracts me so quickly that I forget about what's even happening. Then when I do I rush into it things go wrong." Aria explained.

"How long has it been happening for?" Steven asked.

"Since I've gotten to Hoenn." She replied. "I wanted to try new things and I did, but I've been thinking too long and hard about it. Then whenever something new happens, I over react and well..."

"I understand completely." Steven said, looking over at her. "It's your secret right? So I'll hide it from the others if you like."

"I don't want you to have to deal with the burden of hiding it." Aria pointed out.

"It's not a problem at all." Steven reached into the bag that he was carrying with him and pulled something out. Aria looked confused for a moment before Steven grabbed her hand and placed it in her hand, but he didn't let her see it. "Here, keep this with you. It helped me when I started my journey a long time ago, but I don't need it anymore. Think of it as a good luck charm." He said with a warm smile.

He pulled his hand back and Aria looked at what he gave her. It was a small bright blue jewel that almost looked like the ocean when the sun shines brightly on it.

"I can't take this from you." Aria said, pushing it back to him, but he shook his head.

"Keep it. I want you to have it. It'll please me if you just hold onto it. If you don't want it anymore later, than I understand." Steven told her.

"Steven..." Aria sighed. "Alright. I'll take it. Thanks for caring for me."

"It's nothing." Steven looked away not noticing the blushes on his cheeks.

Minutes past before Aria spoke up. "Um, we should go back to the others." She suggested, noticing the sky becoming dark. She heard Steven chuckle.

"That would be best." He said.

Aria returned all of her pokemon into their poke balls except for Misdreavus who was still resting on her shoulder. They started to head back to the Pokemon Center until Steven came to a stop, placing his hand on his hip. Aria turned around to face him, confused by why he stopped.

"You know. I still didn't get to hear your answer from earlier." He pointed out. Aria knew what he was talking about instantly.

"Oh...right." Aria looked away and Steven took a couple of steps towards her.

"So, what's your choice? Do you want me to come, or do not?" He asked. Aria remained silent for a moment. Steven was about to say it again until Aria finally said something. She looked up at him with a warm smile.

"My answer is..."

* * *

"They've been gone for a really long time." Max pointed out.

"Yeah, I wonder what's going on." Ash said, glancing out the window.

"Don't rush them guys!" May told them. "They'll be coming back. Just give them some time to talk!"

"You sound like you planned something to happen." Brock pointed out.

"Maybe..."

* * *

The deck below Steven and Aria started to make a strange sound, causing them to look down, confused. The cue of a snap instantly got to their heads once they both fell right in the water below.

They both take a deep breath once they got their head out of the water.

"Aria, are you alright?" Steven asked concerned.

"I'm fine." Aria said as she called out Sharpedo.

They held onto the pokemon as it lead them to shore. Once they were on the sands, the two on their hands and knees as they coughed up water from their throats. Aria called back Sharpedo and Misdreavus, (who managed to escape from the fall since she could fly) floated towards them, a concerned look on her face as she stared at her trainer.

"We're okay Misdreavus." She assured. Steven stood up off of the ground, him and Aria soaking wet when they fell in.

"I wonder how that happened." He said, placing his hand on his chin.

"Maybe the wood was tampered with?" Aria suggested, standing up as well. Misdreavus floated beside her, and titled her head to the side in confusion.

"That could be it." Steven said, getting onto the deck once more, inspecting the shattered platform. "Seems like it was already messed with a while ago. I'm curious to know what or who could have done this."

"Curiosity killed the cat you know." Aria said. Steven laughed at her comment, standing up.

"Well that cat won't be looking into it anymore." He responded. Aria couldn't hold back her laugh before she smiled warmly at him.

"Welcome to the group, Steven."

* * *

**Wow, that took longer than I expected. 6,000 words? Double wow! I'm just glad I finally got this done so you guys can finally read this. Anyway, I should start to work on this next chapter. First I have to check out what it's about before I continue with working on it.**

**I'll see you guys in the next chapter! Bye!**


	24. Episode XXIII: Part I

**Alright, before we continue with this chapter, it's time for me to answer to a few reviews. Yes, I'm going to be doing this often, not all of the time though.**

_**Devin sands:**_ _Steven didn't give Aria a Mega Stone. It was just a stone used to evolve pokemon. If you want specific answers, it's a Dawn Stone. This stone will be important in a later chapter, but I do plan of having Steven explain how he got it and why he gave it to Aria._

_**MsAngelOfDarkness96:** I know right? Especially since I've never added in a character like him in a fanfic like this before, so I do get to try something new! :D_

**I want to t****hank Dreaming of Skylark with the recap suggestions. I will short them now so that it won't take up much of the chapter, but thanks for the nice comments too!**

**And this one is just a bit of a...well a side chapter? Basically, I just wanted to change things up for a bit in this episode, so while Ash is on his way of training and catching a certain Pokemon, I figured to change it up a bit and see if I can do a bit of a difference to it.**

**Anyway, enough talking from me and more of the chapter. Later!**

* * *

**Separate Plans  
****Episode 23: Part 1**

**Recap of the last episode...**

_The deck below Steven and Aria started to make a strange sound, causing them to look down, confused. The cue of a snap instantly got to their heads once they both fell right in the water below._

_They both take a deep breath once they got their head out of the water._

_"Aria, are you alright?" Steven asked concerned._

_"I'm fine." Aria said as she called out Sharpedo._

_They held onto the pokemon as it lead them to shore. Once they were on the sands, the two on their hands and knees as they coughed up water from their throats. Aria called back Sharpedo and Misdreavus, (who managed to escape from the fall since she could fly) floated towards them, a concerned look on her face as she stared at her trainer._

_"We're okay Misdreavus." She assured. Steven stood up off of the ground, him and Aria soaking wet when they fell in._

_"I wonder how that happened." He said, placing his hand on his chin._

_"Maybe the wood was tampered with?" Aria suggested, standing up as well. Misdreavus floated beside her, and titled her head to the side in confusion._

_"That could be it." Steven said, getting onto the deck once more, inspecting the shattered platform. "Seems like it was already messed with a while ago. I'm curious to know what or who could have done this."_

_"Curiosity killed the cat you know." Aria said. Steven laughed at her comment, standing up._

_"Well that cat won't be looking into it anymore." He responded. Aria couldn't hold back her laugh before she smiled warmly at him._

_"Welcome to the group, Steven."_

* * *

**A kid from pallet town with a brand new world to see**

**I don't know what's ahead but it won't get the best of me**

**There's so much to learn and battles to be won**

**I've advanced so far and still there's always more to come**

**Take a step and I'm on my way gonna start all over again**

**I want to be hero (hero!)**

**Pokemon advance**

**I wanna be a hero (hero!)**

**Give it just one chance**

**And the future will decide**

**If there's a hero buried deep inside**

**I wanna be a hero!**

**Pokemon!**

* * *

"This is Ash's way of training?" May questioned as she just about finished hanging up the laundry. Everyone looked at Ash and his Pokemon, finding sitting near the end of the cliff, meditating as if they were practicing for some kind of samurai training.

"Ash must be practicing his timing for dodging attacks." Brock said, cleaning the dishes they used for this morning.

"Why is that?" May asked the breeder.

"It's so that when he battles with Brawly, he can dodge his Pokemon's movements easier than how he battled them before." He said with a chuckle.

"I guess that makes sense..." May glanced around, realizing that they were missing three people. "Hey, where did Aria and Steven go?"

"Oh, right. You weren't up at the time." Brock realized. "The two of them went sightseeing. They should be back by tomorrow night."

May was disappointed that she couldn't go with them. She would love to go sightseeing! But she missed her opportunity to go. If only she could get some sleep...

"And they told you two and not me?" She asked, placing her hand on her hips. Brock nodded and May sighed. "If you say so..." Then she mumbled, "Luckies..."

* * *

"Is this the place?" Aria asked once she caught up to Steven.

"This should be it." He said, taking off his bag and setting it down on the ground. "Granite Cave extends from here, we should be able to drill our way through."

Aria looked at him confused. "Drill?" She questioned. Steven chuckled at her response, taking two lights that could attach to their heads when they enter the dark cave.

"I meant Aggron and Armaldo." He explained, taking out two Poke Balls.

"Well, if you explained it more easier, then I would get what you just said." Aria pointed out, taking one of the lights he handed to her. "What are we looking for again?"

"A Thunder Stone. We should be able to find one if the two of us work together." Steven explained.

"Um, quoting you, but didn't you say, "It took you months to find the Fire Stone."? How are we going to find one by today or tomorrow?" Aria said, putting the light on.

"You never know what could happen down in the caves. We might even find it before we even start." He smirked at her and Aria just rolled her eyes.

"Alright, let's go." She said. Steven nodded, calling out his two large Pokemon.

"I need you two to dig a hole into Granite Cave. We're going to try and take a new route." He told them.

The Pokemon nod, digging a hole together as they were already somewhere deep. Steven puts his back on and knelt down, looking down into the hole. He waited until he heard his Pokemon signal him it was okay to go down.

Steven nodded to Aria and she took out a bundle of ropes. She hands it to him before he hooked one up to the ground and let the end of it fall down the hole. He used a second rope and set it up for Aria to go down as well.

Soon enough, they took their ropes and slowly deceased down into the hole.

"Be careful," Steven told her. "These rocks are slippery."

Aria nodded in response once she placed her foot on another rock sticking out of the wall. That is, until it fell out, causing Aria to gasp. Steven instantly heard the sound and his head snapped in her direction.

She lost her footing and was falling down. A scream past her and Steven tried to reach out to grab her hand, but he missed.

"Aggron, catch her!" He shouted.

Aria nearly hit the ground, until the large Pokemon caught her in its hands. She was set down on the ground, looking up at the Pokemon.

"Thanks Aggron." She said. Steven landed on his feet and ran over to her.

"Aria, are you alright?!" He asked quickly.

"I'm fine, thanks to Aggron." She said. Steven sighed with relief.

"Ar! Armaldo!" They glanced at Steven's other Pokemon and saw it pointing at a narrow tunnel.

"There, we should be able to get into Granite Cave." Steven said, taking out two Poke Balls. "Thanks you two, you were a big help." He returned them to their Poke Balls before they processed on ahead.

"There was something strange about those rocks." Steven said. "They were really slippery. And there was no rain for the past couple of days."

"You don't think there's an underwater cavern, right?" Aria asked once they got through the narrow tunnel.

"That might be it actually. Especially with that waterfall, maybe it could have caused it. We'll have to keep an eye out." Aria nodded at his response as they walked down a path they found. Steven stopped and held out his arm, preventing Aria from moving forward.

"What is it?" She asked.

"Do you hear that?" He asked, looking at her from over his shoulder. They look ahead and heard something running in their direction. They saw movement in the darkness before they saw something large and purple.

"What is that?" Aria asked.

"A Loudred!" Steven exclaimed, grabbing her hand to get her going. "Run!"

They ran down the same tunnel to try and avoid the large Pokemon.

"Why is chasing after us?" Aria asked, glancing at Steven.

"I don't know! I think someone or something alerted it and it must be on a berserk!" He said. "Quick! Down here!"

They jump into a hole and ran down it before they realized that they managed to avoid the Loudred.

"Do you think it was going after something else?" Aria asked.

"I'm not sure. But something definitely set it off. We'll have to be careful." Steven said. All of a sudden Steven's light went out. He took it off and looked at it, seeing that it was busted when they jumped in the hole. "Great, even better..."

"My still works." Aria said, adjusting the light. "We'll have to be even more careful."

"Yes, I agree." Steven looked back, thinking he heard something, but shrugged it off before they continued down the cave.

* * *

Deeper within Granite Cave, there was a small lake within the caverns. There were small blue Pokemon carrying fruit towards what appears to be a Salamence. The Salamence seemed to be relaxed and ate fruit that the small Pokemon brought to them. However, the small ones were tired, weak, and exhausted. They felt like they were going to pass out if this doesn't stop.

The Salamence is making them its personal servants and not caring about them at all. And these small Pokemon didn't like it at all. They needed to be saved, they need to be rescued.

Their only hope now was to wait for someone to come and help them.


	25. Episode XXIII: Part II

**Oh my god. I just realized something. I just checked the status of this story are we are at 11.3k views already! And 54 reviews! Wow! You guys are amazing! I didn't think we would make it that far this quickly! Thank you to everyone who has followed this story and enjoyed it since the beginning! I hope you guys enjoy the cover for this story that I created for it! It took some time but I finally managed to make one for this and the side story! **

**And I also got a kitty! Ever since my 21 one year old died a couple of weeks ago, we decided to get a 4 month year old kitten named Abby! I'm really happy to have her, she's really playful, energetic, and very loving! ****I'll probably make her my profile picture for the month! Enjoy today's chapter!**

**Merry Christmas Everyone!**

**Extra Info!**

**_(S) Salamence - Salamence that has a scar._**

**_Salamence - A normal non-injured Salamance._**

* * *

**Salamance Vs. Salamance  
****Episode 23: Part 2**

"This path must lead deeper underground." Aria said. They looked at the path that was steep and figured that it would lead them farther into Granite Cave.

There was no end to the tunnel. They felt like they were walking in circles.

"There's no end to this." Steven pointed out. "I'm not sure how long it's going to take us to get out of here before we find that stone."

"Should we retrace our steps?" Aria suggests.

Steven didn't response back once he heard something crack. He stops for a moment. Aria turns around to face him.

"Is something wrong?"

Steven nodded, kneeling down and running his hand across the ground.

_Crack..._

He wasn't wrong.

His eyes widen.

"Aria get off of this-!"

_CRACK!_

The whole ground below them gave away. They fell into the hole, heading deeper underground. That was until they got separated into two different tunnels and the both of them lost consciousness.

* * *

_1 Hour Later..._

Steven couldn't see a single thing when he regained consciousness. Now that he couldn't use a flashlight or anything else to find his way through the cave. He had to feel around the walls to find a way out. If he didn't get separated from Aria, they would have been able to _see_ something.

Then suddenly, he hears a strange sound. He feels something hard hit the back of his head. He felt his head spin and his body falls onto the ground. He loses consciousness once more.

* * *

Aria opens her eyes to a strange sound of small cries. She sits up, glancing at the surrounding area.

It was completely dark, but she could faintly see. Since she was deeper within the cave,the darker it was going to get. Her eyes widen at the sound of large footsteps. She reaches behind her to grab Absol's Poke Ball. Ten she spotted a large blue winged dragon approaching her. She noticed a large scar going across the side of its face.

"What's that Pokemon?" She wondered aloud, pulling out her Pokedex.

**"Salamence, the Dragon Pokémon. Fully evolved form of Bagon. Equipped with sharp teeth and massive claws, weighs over 200 pounds, and has the fastest speed of all the Flying-type Pokémon."**

She stares at her Pokedex with disbelief.

"That's crazy." She mumbled. Her eyes widen when she sees the corner of its wings. (S) Salamence stares at her for a moment and turns around to walk away.

"Wait, you're hurt!" Aria said, reaching into her bag. She pulls out a vial filled with herbal medicine. "You see? I have medicine! It can heal you!"

(S) Salamence looked at her with sympathy. Aria approached the Pokemon, examining his wound on the wing.

"Did you battle another Pokemon?" She asks. (S) Salamence nodded.

"I see. So you fought and lost. Don't worry, I can fix that right up." She grabs another one that she could rub against the wing and cover it with bandages. (S) Salamence patiently waited until she was finished to fold his wings over his back.

"There, that should heal up in no time!" She said with a big smile.

(S) Salamence looked at its wing and then away from her direction.

(S) Salamence started to walk down the tunnel and looks over at Aria. She realizes it wants her to follow and she complied. When they reached the end of the tunnel Aria was surprised by all of the weak and exhausted Bagons that were in the large area. A few were tending to the wounded, and others that were starving.

"Those are Bagon," She said, pulling out her Pokedex. "And they look starved."

**"Bagon the Rock Head Pokémon. Bagon bashes itself against large rocks until its head eventually grows as hard as steel."**

"Horrible," Was all she could say at the weak and injured ones. She pulls out Pokemon food and gives it to all of the Bagon. She looks at (S) Salamence who frowned at the sight. "Is this why you brought me here?"

(S) Salamence nods, leading her towards another tunnel. She followed after him. He soon stops but pushes her forward to keep going.

Aria reaches the end of the tunnel and hides behind a large rock. She peeks out of the corner and surprisingly enough she saw another Salamence, but this one was relaxing. The Bagons were all struggling, bringing fruit to it, fanning, and forced to do what he desired.

Aria's eyes scanned the area and spotted a silver haired trainer tied up. Her eyes widen in shock.

He got captured when they must have been separated.

I can't believe he got captured.

She headed back into the tunnel, (S) Salamence staring at her with sorrow.

"You were the leader and lost the title, huh?" She asks.

(S) Salmence tenses, but nods.

"There's got to be a way to get him to stop doing what he is to those Bagon." Aria placed a hand over her mouth. She looks at the injured Bagon and she was tempted to cry, but held it in. Then an idea came to her mind. "I got it!"

* * *

Steven tugs at the ropes, but still no avail. He grits his teeth together, trying to reach for a Poke Ball.

_There no way out of this!_

He barely had Metagross' Poke Ball in his hand.

_If they find Aria, then we'll never get out of here!_

"Shadow Ball!"

His eyes follow to the source of the cry and find a purple ball fly towards the Salamence and hits it right in the face.

Steven felt the ropes loosen and turns his head to see a familiar blacked haired trainer.

"Looks like I came just on time." She says with a grin.

"As always." Steven replies, standing off of the ground. He reaches for a Poke Ball and calls out Metagross.

Suddenly,before he could call out a command, a loud cry echoed through the cave. They look up and spotted a Salamence with a scar glaring right at the Salamence that regained its composure. The two growl at each other which lead to a fight.

(S) Salamence fired a Dragon Breath at the other Salamence. Salamence dodged it and used Flamethrower. (S) Salamence took it head on and curled his body into a cocoon. Once it was gone, (S) Salamence spreads its wings and flies at the other. Its fangs sparked and connected with the other's neck, sending it into a large boulder. Salamence attacked again with another Flamethrower, but it missed.

It hits the ceiling and knocks boulders down.

"Oh no!" Aria cried. "Misdreavus, use Psychic and catch them!"

Misdeavus' eyes glowed blue and caught a few of them.

"Metagross, help them out!" Steven told it.

Metagross nodded and catches the other ones that nearly hit the two Salamences.

The two stop attacking each other and step back, growling intensely. They were covered in burn marks, scratches, and were panting.

"Stop!"

Aria jumps in front of (S) Salamence, and Steven steps in front of the other.

"There's no need to fight anymore!" Aria told it. "I know you're trying to save your friends, but we don't have to fight just to get their freedom back!"

"You can't just force other Pokemon to do your bidding for you. It's not right." Steven adds. "There are other ways of living, you don't have to do this. Do you want other Pokemon to be afraid of you? To hate you?"

Salamence glanced around, noticing the Bagon cowering in fear. Its eyes widen in realization.

Aria smiled lightly. "You two don't have to hate each other, you can work together to protect that Bagon on this cave! You don't have to worry about a single thing. All you have to do, is live."

(S) Salamence smiled and walked passed her. She turns around and finds the other Salamence approaching it. The two stared at each other until (S) Salamence held out its claw. Salamence stared at it before it held out its own and they shook on it.

Aria and Steven smiled, glancing at each other.

"We did it." She said.

Steven nods. "We did."

* * *

Later in that day, the two Salamences lead Aria and Steven to the entrance of Granite Cave as the sun started to set.

"Wow, the sun is already going down." Aria said surprised.

"The others must be worried." Steven guesses. "We'll have to go check on them."

They turn to the two as the Bagons stand behind them.

"Let's hope you two agree to work together from now on, alright?" Aria ask.

The Dragon Pokemon nod in unison.

"Hey, we still didn't find a Thunder Stone." Steven realizes, crossing his arms.

"I completely forgot." Aria remembered.

(S) Salamence made a sound a Bagon ran forward with a strange stone in its hands. Aria knelt down and it hands it to her.

"A Thunder Stone!" She says surprised. She looks up at (S) Salamence. "You're giving this to us?"

It nods, smiling.

Aria smiles as well, standing up. She hands the stone to Steven and he examines it.

"It hasn't been used yet. It's brand new." He says. He puts it in his bag.

"We have to go now." Aria says. "But we'll meet again soon!"

Aria and Steven walk the opposite direction, waving their goodbyes to the Salamences and Bagons.

Peace has finally been restored to Granite Cave.

* * *

**Yeah, yeah, I know. This chapter sucks. I kinda rushed, I wanted to get this done by today so you guys have something to read on Christmas. Well, at least I can get back onto the normal episodes. Right?**

**Haha, anyway I'll see you guys in the next chapter and Merry Christmas! Bye!**


	26. Episode XXV: Part I

**And today you guys can vote for which Pokemon you want Aria to catch next! Choose and it'll maybe be the Pokemon will welcome next to Aria's Pokemon Bundle!**

**Aria's Pokemon Bundle? Should I call it that from now on? Hmm, I'll think of something along the way as this goes on...**

**But here you go, here's the list for Aria's team choice!**

**Ralts**

**Spheal**

**Gastly**

**Shroomish**

**Surskit**

**Pichu**

**I'm doing this a lot lately, I mean, I plan on doing this for all of them since I figured it's been a while since she caught a Pokemon unlike Ash. And if you noticed, I did add Pichu to that list. I thought it would be a little interesting to see both siblings with an electric type mouse in their group. Aria already has an Eletrike, but there's nothing wrong with two electric types.**

**Also, I've noticed something. Ash has caught more Pokemon than Aria. If you mean how many they have, no, that's not what I'm talking about. Ash has already caught about what 3 Pokemon? Aria has only caught 1. Both Eletrike and Absol were given to her by Professor Birch, so that really doesn't count. Didn't anyone else notice that?**

**I think it would be a good time now for Aria to be able to catch another Pokemon after some time. Sharpedo has been a great use to her, but some times it's great to add a new member to the group.**

**Since Aria was all about speed type Pokemon, I picked something that would be a little interesting. Some of them are slowly, but if they evolve soon enough, they will be much faster. If I had to pick, I'd choose Ralts, just for a little change around her group. Her strategy is mostly based on speed and defense, only offense if the Pokemon has a move that increases its strength, which probably won't happen for a while.**

**OW! My cat is playing with my feet right now... Ugh, it hurts... *rubs feet* If only I had the power to turn my cat into a Pokemon, wouldn't that be everyone's dream to turn their pet into a Pokemon?**

**Hehe, my imagination is beautiful...sometimes.**

**Also, here's a question for you guys.**

**What should Aria name her group of Pokemon? I think Aria's Pokemon Bundle fits, but you guys can help out by listing suggestions for it!**

**Okay, I'm shutting up now so you can read.**

* * *

**The Mudkip Family  
Episode 25: Part 1**

**Recap of the last episode...**

_"Hey, we still didn't find a Thunder Stone." Steven realizes, crossing his arms._

_"I completely forgot." Aria remembered._

_(S) Salamence made a sound a Bagon ran forward with a strange stone in its hands. Aria knelt down and it hands it to her._

_"A Thunder Stone!" She says surprised. She looks up at (S) Salamence. "You're giving this to us?"_

_It nods, smiling._

_Aria smiles as well, standing up. She hands the stone to Steven and he examines it._

_"It hasn't been used yet. It's brand new." He says. He puts it in his bag._

_"We have to go now." Aria says. "But we'll meet again soon!"_

_Aria and Steven walk the opposite direction, waving their goodbyes to the Salamences and Bagons._

_Peace has finally been restored to Granite Cave._

* * *

**A kid from pallet town with a brand new world to see**

**I don't know what's ahead but it won't get the best of me**

**There's so much to learn and battles to be won**

**I've advanced so far and still there's always more to come**

**Take a step and I'm on my way gonna start all over again**

**I want to be hero (hero!)**

**Pokemon advance**

**I wanna be a hero (hero!)**

**Give it just one chance**

**And the future will decide**

**If there's a hero buried deep inside**

**I wanna be a hero!**

**Pokemon!**

* * *

"Alright, I think you're done." Aria covers May's mouth after she was doing the entire narrations of their journey through the forest. The group stood in front of a large waterfall which blocked their path from going any further.

"What do we do now?" Ash asked, blinking at the sight of the large waterfall.

"I don't think even a Magikarp can climb that waterfall."

"But that's just the place where we'll probably find some unknown Pokemon!" Brock told them.

"You're right Brock! Come on guys, let's get going!" Ash declared.

"Hold on Ash, I have an idea." Brock takes out a Poke Ball and calls out his Lotad. He puts together a rock and rope, and tells Lotad to use Water Gun on it. Lotad sends it up towards the top of the waterfall and gets it wrapped up on a tree branch. "Alright, it's safe. Follow me."

One by one, everyone followed Brock up the rope and slowly makes it to the top. May helps each person up onto the cliff.

"That's a long drop." Steven pointed out, peeking his head over the cliff. "If we would have fallen, who knows what could happen."

"Agreed." Max replied. "Good thing the rope didn't break on us."

Ash takes a couple of steps forward and looks at the flowing river.

"So this is what the top of a waterfall looks like." He says.

"The water flows more gently that I thought." May said surprised.

"That's cause it's an offshoot." Max shows them the Pokenav with the map of the offshoot.

"So it helps keep the river in balance near the waterfall. That's so cool." Aria commented.

Without anymore delay, they followed the river to continue on.

Brock noticed the change in the ground when his foot slowly sank in the mud.

"It feels like it's pretty muddy over here." He pointed out. "Better be careful you guys."

No one dared to look away from their feet after hearing that.

Once they got further down, they spotted the end of the river with small blue Pokemon living there.

"Look over there! Aren't those Mudkip?" Max asked in excitement.

Ash instantly took out his Pokedex to learn more about it.

**"Mudkip, the Mud Fish Pokemon. Mudkip uses the sensitive radar receptors on its headfin to determine what's going on around it. In a pinch, it can brandish enough power to crush rocks."**

Aria glanced around and noticed a couple of the Mudkip there were really small. The Mudkip she saw at Professor Birch's lab was much bigger, which means these ones had to be babies.

"They're babies." Aria and Brock said in unison.

"They must have just hatched." Steven said. "I've come across a couple on my journey with the trainers I've met."

"Mudkip are extremely rare Pokemon as well, and their natural habitat is unknown." Brock explains to the group.

"It's a rare sight to see so many wild Mudkip in one area, especially since they're used as starters for a Pokemon Trainer." Aria said, placing her hand on her chin. "I wonder why their here in such a great bundle. Especially for all of them being babies." She closed her eyes. "Interesting..."

"Is something wrong Aria?" Steven asked, noticing the curiosity in her expression. She opened her eyes and turned her head to the trainer.

"Hmm? Oh it's nothing." She looks away and glances at the Mudkip. She didn't realize that May had tried to catch one after declaring how cute they were, but all she got was getting sprayed in the face by Water Gun from an older one.

Older one? Weren't all of them babies?

Suddenly, she heard out a cry of help and glanced over at a group of baby Mudkips. She spotted that one of them had fall into the river and is being carried towards the waterfall.

"That leads out to the main river!" Max cried.

"They'll get washed away if we don't do anything to help!" Aria exclaimed, causing everyone to tense in fear.

"Lotad, go help!" Brock told his Pokemon that stood beside him. Lotad nods its head and jumps into the river to catch the baby Mudkip.

Aria reached for a Poke Ball and called out her Pokemon.

"Go help Sharpedo!" She told it as it caught up to Lotad once it appeared in the water.

Both Pokemon rushed forward and Lotad managed to get the Mudkip on top of its head. Sharpedo went around them and tried to push them towards the shore, but the current was too strong for them.

"This is bad!" Brock said, running along the edge to help his Pokemon. Aria followed after him, which lead the other to catch up.

Steven was about to call out Metagross to use Psychic, but they noticed that the one that had sprayed May with a Water Gun had jumped into the river and grabbed the Pokemon, pulling them to the shore. They were lucky they didn't fall down the waterfall and they would have been washed away if that Mudkip didn't rush to their rescue.

* * *

**Hmm, honestly, I was planning on adding Mudkip to the list for Aria's team, but I wasn't sure since Brock is getting his own in this episode. I mean, unless Pichu gets chose in the votes, then it should be alright if I do that. But she already has a Sharpedo but it doesn't matter right?**

**Eh, I figure something out soon, I hope.**

**Oh, and the movie special, I nearly forgot about it. Tell the truth, I've been working on that so much it's just been a bit of a pain. I think I'm going to rewrite it again just to make sure that its okay. And I don't think that most of it will change anything really.**

**But at least the movies don't effect the plot of this, right? I mean, I can make references to the movie in the episodes if you guys want me to, which I'm completely cool about.**

**I've also noticed that Aria is starting to get a bit of Ash's personality. I meant how much her excitement and encouragement is close to his. Aria was taught more than him and she's much more...how do I put this?**

**Basically her brain is much more bigger than his. There I said it. Actually, it does make sense since she is 4 years older than him, which is strange since sometimes they mention that its been 8 months and they haven't grow up at all.**

**Weird huh? 0.o**

**Okay, I need to shut up. I talk way too much. But then again, I don't even say anything at school because I barely had friends. ;_;**

**I mean, I have a couple of friends, but I don't see them all of the time except for the beginning or end of the day. I never leave my house so...ya.**

**Anyway, bye!**


	27. Quick Update

**So, how have all of you guys been? For me, I've been busy. I haven't been able to work on this series forever! Trust me I've been wanting to, but I have exams this week. Everyday until Friday. Yeah, you can tell where I'll be for a bit.**

**The reason I'm only saying this on this series is because I have something special planned. If you noticed what was on my profile I put up a poll. You can probably guess what it is, but I don't plan to spoil anything yet. :3**

**So the next update you'll probably see from me is this weekend. Maybe, I not officially sure yet. But if you want to know where I'll be, well, it's a secret too.**

**Also, I'm editing the old chapters in the series as you might have already noticed in the Hoenn one, but I'm still going to fix a lot of it.**

**I'll see you guys soon!**


	28. Final August Update

**I know. I know. This is getting out of hand. I haven't been doing anything for this series. But that doesn't mean I'm giving up on it.**

**I've decided something.**

**Would any of you like to see the rest of the series in Aria's POV?**

**In all honesty, I think it might be easier considering that most of the series is focused on Aria only, but then getting to the actually effects in the story.**

**But if you've checked my profile you've probably noticed something there. I've planned out stories for future notice and there is one in there that might catch your eye.**

**Remember that poll I put up a long time ago? Yeah, it's finally becoming official, just not right away. Anyway by the time this is up I'm working on old chapters and doing episodes that I've skipped into the actually series. So, yeah, I'm going to be busy.**

**If any of you guys have suggestions or anyway way to help me getting a schedule set up for this series let me know! I could use you're guys' advice! It's become very useful before! I'm sure it'll still be useful now!**

**That wasn't meant to be rude but just to let you know I love you guys!**

**Bye for now!**


	29. Episode XXV: Part II

**Wow. Just wow. We're now at 17.4k views! It just keeps going up! I'm surprised by it! I've never had this happen to me before! It makes me feel like I need to keep on writing with these stories! Also, I want to apologize for that no update thing that showed up months ago. I was actually working on previous chapters to fix them, which will also lead up to this one (at some point), so updates will be a little slow. But the good news is that some of it is going to be in other characters' point of view! I have decided that this is what I wanted and I will keep third person available within it! So that's a good start to the day.**

**When I was going back and reading my old work, do you know how hard I cringed? I can't believe I use to write that bad. It hurts to see that, but at least it'll look better now, right? Ugh, I'll just get this done so I can worry about it later. **

**Also, did I ever mention how much I love long reviews you guys post? It makes me feel like there's enough for me to know about what I messed up and what I need to improve on, or more so you're opinions on the conflicts that Aria faces on the journey considering that she's an OC!**

**The whole point of Aria was to make a character that changes the feeling in the room and to make people feel happy about themselves. She's like the big sister you've always wanted, aka the big sister Ash always wanted. :3**

**I just love making characters have siblings! It makes me so happy when I see them together and being so nice to each other! Makes me want to have an older sister...**

**For now, o****nto some reviews!**

_**ShadowPheonix34 - **Hmm, I had the same problem with that. It's so hard to pick! I wonder why it takes so long for me to decide on a Pokemon I want when I plan the games or when I think someone deserves a certain one! Ugh, life struggles..._

_**Chi - **Well I can as of now. A little bit of writer's block got in the way but it's back in business...for now anyway..._

_**matthewcortes93 - **Thanks for the comment! That really helped bring more out of me! I gotta say that I do enjoy the support I get from people._

_**ctran03931 -** I was thinking the same thing for Brock to have the Mudkip and Aria just to remain with the Pokemon she has for now. Until the vote is finished, it'll have to wait until we figure out which Pokemon she's going to catch next._

* * *

**The Mudkip Sanctuary  
Episode 25: Part 2**

"Are you okay?" Ash asked Brock once the group caught up to him. Aria's eyes caught onto the large Mudkip that ran away at the sound of Ash's voice. She was a little surprised to see a larger one in group of baby Mudkip.

"I'm fine," Was Brock's response, glancing down at Lotad. "You were great Lotad." He reached out and grabbed the small baby Mudkip on its head. "How about you?"

"Mudkip mudkip!"

Aria knelt down and pets Sharpedo on the head. "Good job pal. You really helped out."

"Sharpedo!" Replied the shark Pokemon. Aria pulled out its Poke Ball and returned it to it. She placed it back on her belt where the rest of them were. Suddenly, there was a sound of moving leaves of a bush. Everyone turned their attention to it and spotted something stick their head out from the top of it. An older man with white hair located only in the middle of his head and the sides that stuck out like a Mudkip.

"Ah! A Mudkip monster!" Ash yelled.

"So what confront May's expedition but a Mudkip transformed into an agent monster!"

"Give me a break! That's crazy!" Max exclaimed waving his arms around in front of his sister.

"Me? A monster?" The man yelled feeling insulted.

"A talking monster?" May said confused.

"Hello?! It's a _person_!" Max told her.

"If you think you can steal these Mudkip I worked so hard to raise think twice!" snapped the man.

"No! We'd never do that!" Ash exclaimed, holding his hands up in defense.

"We were helping with one of your Mudkip that got carried away by the stream." Steven explained, pointing at the baby Mudkip Brock was holding.

"Looks like I had you guys all wrong. I'm mighty sorry."

"That's okay, it's our fault for startling you."

The group introduced themselves to the man who had the name Swampy who raised after the Mudkip that were living by the stream. After Ash's attempt to make jokes Swampy put on a serious look, asking how they were able to get through the fence and to where they are now.

"We got here through the river and climbed up the waterfall so that we could get up here." Aria explained.

"We didn't know that this place was occupied." Brock added in.

"What the heck?! You mean you really climbed the waterfall?!" Swampy exclaimed shocked.

"We're sorry for trespassing." Ash apologized, hanging his head.

"Aw forget it. Anyone kind enough to save my Mudkip is a friend of mine." He said patting him on the head. "How you all have some tea before you leave?"

* * *

"So this is your home Mr. Swampy?" May asked as they all gathered around the table to drink some tea that he offered.

"Yes I suppose is it," He says. "But its really purpose is to be a shelter for all of those Mudkip for all of these years."

Ash's eyes widen in shock. "Wow..."

"Excuse me Swampy," Brock starts, glancing over the right at a tank that had blue shaped eggs in them. "But what are those blue things over there?"

"I'm surprised you don't know Brock," Steven says. "Those are Pokemon Eggs."

"More accurately Mudkip Eggs."

"Yep! Those two got it right! Those are Mudkip Eggs!"

"Real Mudkip Eggs?" Brock's eyes widen when he just realized what they were.

Ash and Max got out of their seats to take a closer look at the four eggs that were there. Aria felt her eye twitched when May mentioned the expedition thing again.

_Seriously, when was that going to end? _She thought to herself.

"How do you two know about Mudkip Eggs?" Brock asks the two sitting next to each other. Aria glances over at him which took her mind off of May.

"Professor Birch had a couple in his lab. They were to live there until they reach an age where they are picked by a trainer." She recalled all of the Pokemon she met there when she first got to Hoenn.

"I've encountered many people carrying Pokemon Eggs in my journey, so it was easy to tell that those were one of them." Steven spoke.

"By the way I've been wondering about something," Aria glanced over at Swampy with a curious look on her face. "I hope you don't mind but how were you able to come across these Mudkip eggs? Aren't they hard to find around these parts?"

Everyone looked a little concerned when they saw Swampy trembling while making a humming sound under his breath.

"My grandma always use to tell me that I talk way to much for my own good but there's no way I can keep quiet anymore!" He says really fast.

Aria looked even more surprised considering that she thought she had said something wrong and was having a semi freak out to herself.

"Chew on this thought for a moment." His talking had slowed down and his voice had reverted back to its normal tone. "Tell me, you ever wondered why the first three Pokemon that any trainer receives is exactly the same level? Well have ya?"

"I've wondered about that." Brock answered.

"You know, I think I've never thought about that..." Ash said aloud.

"Yeah I never thought about it either." May added.

"What? Any trainer should have at least thought about this at one point!" Max told the two of them.

"I've always thought about that too. I never received any starter Pokemon here but Beldum so I have no idea what it's like." Steven replied. Aria hummed under her breath.

"Ever since I got my first Pokemon in Kanto I've been thinking about it as well."

"Well the fact is there is a whole lot of folks just like me who get a bunch of eggs from the Pokemon League and then turn around and raise them you see?" Swampy explained to them.

Apparently everyone had the right idea about it when he said that. But it lead up to talking about Professor Birch who does the same thing like Swampy but also catches them in the wild as well. Max brings up about how some of it reminds him about Pokemon Breeding when he glanced at Brock but in reality they were different from each other in a few ways.

"What's this? Are you telling me that your a breeder, Brock? How about seeing a Mudkip hatching before your eyes?" Swampy offered to the dark haired breeder.

"I'd love to, that would be amazing!"

* * *

**The ones that are out are Spheal, Shroomish, and Surskit. The only ones left are:**

**Ralts - 2**

**Gastly - 1**

**Pichu - 2**

**So we're basically down to the only three left. Currently Pichu and Ralts are in the lead and Gastly is in last. For the end of this, I will be putting up a poll for which Pokemon Aria will be catching and once it's close I'll put up a special or maybe somewhere in an episode where she catches it.**

**For now, bye~!**


	30. Episode XXV: Part III

**The Mudkips in Danger  
Episode 25: Part 3**

After moments of waiting, the group finally got to see one of the three Mudkip eggs hatch from inside of the nest to reveal a tiny baby Mudkip.

"Look at that," May sat down on her knees to get a closer look at them. "Those babies are just the cuties things, aren't they?"

Suddenly the Mudkip sprayed a Water Gun in her face and she instantly sighed.

"Never mind..." She mutters to herself.

"I'm afraid you're never going to make it onto any Mudkip's favorite list." Max joked to his sister.

"By the way I forgot to tell you," Brock says to Swampy. "It was actually a Mudkip from around here that rescued the baby Swampy."

"Oh? Really? A local?" Swampy asked a little surprised.

"Yeah, and it was a pretty big fella too."

Swampy's face lit up with a smile when he recalled that very same Mudkip. "Oh yeah I know that one!"

"Really? Is that one of your Mudkip that you've raised?"

"No I'm afraid not. That's just one of those wild ones. That one sneaks in some times."

"Wild?" Brock repeated confused.

"That's odd, you'd think it come from a place like this." Steven said aloud.

"But it seemed older than the other Mudkip living here, so it would kinda make sense." Max added in.

"It thinks that all of my Mudkip are its friends." Swampy says to them. "But I'm afraid with how big its been getting its hard to find a trainer for it. It won't be too long before all of its friends leave. And when you think about it in that way, I guess it really doesn't have any friends to speak of."

"I guess I understand..." Brock began to realize that if Mudkip stays where it is now, he'll end up just alone and even if it makes friends with the newer baby Mudkip, they all eventually leave at one point.

Suddenly a sound of cans hitting each other could be heard hidden within the trees and bushes of the forest.

"Hey did all of you hear that?" Swampy exclaimed to the group. "I'll be right back."

Before anyone could ask what was wrong Swampy was already gone into the forest.

"Action packed adventures for May's expedition that's what!" May said happily.

"Action with my boot in your face." May nearly forgot Aria was standing behind her with a glare to the back of her head.

"A-ah never mind..."

"Come on guys let's go!" Ash told everyone.

The group agrees and follows the path that Swampy had taken to figure out what had happened. Brock suddenly stops realizing that there was a Mudkip approaching him from behind a bush.

However this one was different. It was the one from before!

"Well look what we've got here." He says. "Are you here to help us out like before?"

There was one person however noticed Brock's abstinence and ran back to find out why he stopped.

"Hey Brock what are you—" The silver haired trainer's eyes widen at the large Mudkip standing right in front of them. "Is that the Mudkip from before?"

"Yeah, but I wonder what its doing here." Brock reached his hand out towards the Mudkip but it took off running the opposite directly. "Hey wait up!"

Steven realized that Brock was following after it which lead up to him following him as well.

Seconds later they reach a small lake but there was no sight of Mudkip anywhere.

"Wait a minute, Mudkip had have come this way." Brock said confused.

"It should be here." Steven agreed with him.

"Mudkip." They both look down below and saw the Mudkip approaching them once again.

"There it is." Steven and Brock knelt down to the ground but Mudkip took a step back thinking they were going to attack it.

"Hey Mudkip, I'd like to be your friend if you'd let me." Brock said as he reached behind into his pocket. "Here try some of this. It some of my homemade Pokemon food and its really good." He holds it out towards Mudkip and he could see the look of confusion on its face.

"I guess you just don't trust me, do you Mudkip?"

"You'd wonder why an older Mudkip would be this nervous around people, but when it comes to Swampy he seems perfectly fine with him."

"That must be because he's raising those baby Mudkip." Brock guessed. "But either way I want to be friends with this Mudkip."

"I agree with you there Brock."

* * *

Ash, May, Max, Aria, and Swampy had finally made to where the sound of cans had rang but noticed something really odd. The fence that blocked off the entry into the forest was destroyed.

"Your fence is totaled!" Ash exclaimed shocked.

"How in the world...?" Swampy felt something crinkle under his foot which surprised him. He reached down and picked up what appeared to be a can but it was crushed and separated from the line. "My cans are destroyed."

"If this fence is destroyed doesn't that mean something or someone got in?" Aria asked Swampy.

"T-that's right." He was utterly surprised to be saying those words when this kind of incident hasn't happened before.

Aria could only think of one thing that could have gotten in through the fence. There was only one group of people that would do something this devilish.

The sudden dark laughter had instantly made her theory correct when she spotted the evil trio standing behind them.

* * *

**Cliffhanger! I really wanted to do more for this chapter but I want to make this chapter a little special considering that it's been a long time since I've updated this. And I've split up the group. Instead of Brock going alone Steven goes with them and Aria stays with Ash, May, and Max. But yeah the next chapter is the end of the episode but hopefully that should be uploaded tomorrow! Bye!**


	31. Episode XXV: Part IV

**Brock's New Friend!  
Episode 25: Part 4**

"Who'd they say they are?" Swampy said utterly confused.

"Team Rocket," Ash growled. "They're the bad guys."

"Pika pika!" Pikachu agreed, getting into a defense stance.

"I'm onto your game!" Swampy declared at the three. "You crooks came here to try and steal my Mudkip I've been raising for the Pokemon League, now didn't ya?!"

"So Mudkip huh?" Jessie smirked when she heard that exact information they were looking for.

"Aha! So that's the treasure you're protecting!" James exclaimed.

"And those Mudkip are really rare Pokemon too!" Meowth added.

"Think of the waves of joy washing over the boss when we deliver them!"

"Think of the waves of promotion washing over us!"

"Yay! We'll be big time executives!"

"Is there something wrong with those three?" Swampy asked glancing over at the others.

"You know this wouldn't have happened if you haven't given them so much information the first place!" May scolded him.

"Oops..." Swampy puts his hand on his cheek, forgetting that he says so many things in one sentence. "You're so right May. My grandma use to get so mad at me for that."

"For a minute I thought we could get away with it and just knock them out of the sky again, but it seems like that's gotta wait..." Aria sighed, shaking her head.

"But being secretive has never been in my nature! Not one bit!"

Aria jumped, startled by his screaming again as she collapsed to the floor in shock.

"For example I probably shouldn't mention this but if you would have broken the dam over there the water would flood swamps leaving the baby Mudkip with no place left to live!"

"You did it again!" Max exclaimed at him.

"You might think about breaking that habit Swampy!" Ash added.

Aria got up off of the ground, face palming.

"How'd I know this was going to happen...?" She sighed once again.

"Yeah I know that much but for some reason it doesn't seem to help!" Swampy panicked, shaking his head.

Seconds later without them realizing it they saw that James had called out his Cacnea and told it to use Needle Arm but instead launched him into the dam and broke it with only the holes of where his bod was left.

The water began to pour out of it and everything was beginning to get horrible real fast.

"This is terrible!" Swampy exclaimed, his face filled with horror.

"Those Mudkip are in big trouble!" Ash told them.

"We've got to help them!" Max agreed.

"We need to block that hole as well!" Aria added in, running ahead of the group.

"Aria! Wait up!" Ash told her before he started to run with her. Soon enough the group began to follow them as well.

* * *

Mudkip was still staring at Brock but as soon as he was about to take a step forward the three of them could hear something from the distance.

"What's that?" Brock questioned.

"That wasn't there earlier." Steven pointed out, noticing the direction it was heading in. "Wait a minute, that's the path that goes to waterfall!"

Brock stood up, pulling out a Poke Ball to aid the baby Mudkip that the current was heading for.

"Fortress use Rapid Spin to stop the water!" Brock told his Pokemon.

"Lotad!"

"Metagross!"

"Take care of those baby Mudkip!" The two male trainers yelled.

Lotad jumped into the water, picking up any of the baby Mudkip in its leaf while Metagross used Psychic to lift them out of the water and onto the land. Brock and Steven jumped into the water to also help out.

They bring them up to the land and glance around in hopes they got them all but there was two left sitting on a rock sticking out of the water.

"Alright Lotad!"

Brock was caught off when the older Mudkip jumped into the water and swam to them, getting them onto its back and coming back with them.

"Fortress!" His Pokemon called out, unable to hold the water back any longer.

"That's enough Fortress!" Brock told it. Fortress stopped and floats back over to them and the water begins to fill the area.

"We need to get to higher ground!" Steven says as the Mudkips hop onto Metagross and flies higher up the hill. Brock and the other Mudkips follow along behind him.

Once they reached a far distance they glanced down at the hill as the water current began to rapidly increase.

"Thanks you guys, you were great." Brock said to his Pokemon.

"Metagross a job well done again." Steven said as he returned him to his Poke Ball.

"You did well too Mudkip, you're something special." Brock said the older Mudkip.

"Huh?" Brock's eyes widen when he heard a small cry for help. The two trainers instantly spotted one baby Mudkip trapped in the water, slowly being pulled into the stronger current.

"There's one more left!" Steven exclaimed.

Suddenly a body jumped past them and landed directly into the water.

"What the?!" Their eyes widen when they realized that the person who jumped into the water happened to be Ash's older sister.

"Aria!" Brock cried out. "She's gonna get washed away by the waterfall!"

They chased after her as she swam her way towards the Mudkip and manged to grab it into her arms. Ash and the others managed to catch up to them and noticed Aria trapped in the current.

Aria looked up and noticed that everyone was trying to figure out a way to rescue them but she had a different plan in mind.

"Brock catch!" She threw the baby Mudkip over to him which he managed to catch in his arms. Aria suddenly felt a strong force pull her under the water and she felt herself falling off of the waterfall.

"ARIA!" Everyone cried.

They peeked over the edge, hoping she was okay and...and...

"There she is!" Ash pointed out as they spotted her hanging onto a rock that was sticking out of the waterfall.

There was a wound on the side of her head that was leaking blood out which meant that she had hit her head on the fall.

"I'm not giving up that easily!" She tells them, looking up at them. She winced her grip tightening on the rock when she felt her fingers slipping.

"Aria hold on!" Ash called out to her.

Suddenly trees could be heard falling apart and a robot could be spotted in the distance. It was shaped like a gardener and was scooping up the baby Mudkip with two large shovels and places them in a large bag.

"On no, the Pokemon League trusted me to raise their Mudkip and now looks what happened!" Swampy exclaimed.

"Stop it Team Rocket!" Ash yelled at them.

"Gah!" Her hand started to slip from the rock and she didn't have much time left until she would fall. "Don't worry about me! Go help the Mudkip!"

"We're not leaving you there!" Max exclaimed.

"May and Steven, we need you to rescue Aria while Ash and I save the Mudkip!" Brock told them.

"Alright!"

The group run ahead with the older Mudkip following behind them as May and Steven tried to come up with an idea to quickly save Aria from falling.

Suddenly Steven noticed Aria's bag on the floor and he instantly came up with an idea.

"That's it!" He opened her bag and pulled out a Poke Ball. "Ivysaur come out!"

Ivysaur appeared before them but was confused when he realized it was Steven that called him out and not Aria.

"Ivysaur?" It said confused.

Aria bit her lip, her mind telling her that she was exhausted and nearly about to faint. All of the blood lose was getting to her head and everything was turning into different shapes. At this point she had no feeling in her arms and her hand slips without her realizing it.

"Aria!"

Arms reach out and catch her swiftly. Steven sighed with relief when he had manged to catch her in time.

Ivysaur had used the Vine Whip to wrap it around Steven's body so that he was able to jump down and grab Aria before she had fallen down to her doom.

"Steven! Did you catch her?" May called to him worriedly.

"Yeah! She's okay!" Steven looked down at Aria frowning when he realized she had lost consciousness. "She just passed out."

May grabbed a hold of Ivysaur's vines and started to pull with it to get the two of them back up. It took only a few minutes until they were safely back on the hill, panting from all of the fright that had just taken place. Steven was on his hands and knees taking multiple deep breaths.

"She's going to be okay..." Steven panted, looking down at the black haired girl laying on the ground beside him. "She's alright..."

* * *

All of the commotion had finally settled when the others finally managed to get rid of Team Rocket and regulate the water flow back to normal. All of the baby Mudkip had resumed to their normal lives, playing and swimming in the water.

Brock had knelt down to Mudkip with a smile after all of the hard work they had done together.

"Wow Mudkip, I am so proud of you!" Brock praised him.

"Mudkip!" It spoke to him.

"Check out how close Brock and that Mudkip have become." Ash pointed out. "It's great."

"And think of how shy that Mudkip was at first." Max added in.

"Excuse me Brock," Swampy asked. "I'd like to ask you a favor, okay?"

"Sure what is it?" Questioned the breeder.

"That Mudkip can't make any lasting friends stay here. But now that little rascal got a friend, and that's you. I'd be happy happier than I can tell ya if you'd considered taking Mudkip along with you."

Brock's eyes widen. "Yeah?"

"Brock that is so awesome!" Ash tells him.

"Yeah Brock!"

"That's totally cool!"

"I'd love to Swampy!" Brock looks down at Mudkip with a bigger smile. "So Mudkip how do you feel about coming with me?"

"Mudkip?" The water Pokemon tilts his head to the side, curious yet confused.

"Come on, what do you say?"

Mudkip stares at him a little bit longer before smiling jumping into his arms.

"Yeah that's the way! From now on it's gonna be you and me together all the time Mudkip!"

"Thank you Brock, make sure you take care of that little guy for me!" Swampy tells him.

"I will! You can count on me, okay?" He looks down at Mudkip in his arms.

"Mudkip!" He agrees, nuzzling against him.

"Seems like I missed all of the fun." The group noticed Aria was walking back over to them with her arm over Steven's shoulder to help her walk. She had a bandage over her head that blocked the wound she gained from the fall. "Congrats Brock. I'm glad you got to be friends with Mudkip."

"I agree. I believe this will make a great friendship between the both of you." Steven adds in, smiling at them. "You did great Brock."

"Thanks guys." Brock smiles back at them as his new bonded friendship with Mudkip had begun in their journey together.


End file.
